


Capes and Idiots

by Dragonfruitkiss



Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow, おそ松さん | Osomatsu-san (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Comedy, Dark, Family Drama, Gen, Humor, Superheroes, Superpowers, Swearing, Trauma, at first, it is a crossover but the focus stays on the matsus, worm universe is just so good
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2020-10-21 16:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 75,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20696408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonfruitkiss/pseuds/Dragonfruitkiss
Summary: Through a traumatic event Matsuno sextuplets receive superpowers. However, they keep them in secret, even from each others. They learn how to use them and try to find their place in the society as supers, some as heroes, some as villains. Funny things are ensured to happen.The beginning is rather dark but then it'll get more humorous.You don't need to know anything about Worm to read and understand this story.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Welcome!
> 
> A year ago today I made my first post on ao3. So this is a great day to start a new long fic!
> 
> So, this fic is a crossover with webseries called “Worm”. I wanted to write matsu superhero au but I realized I couldn’t create as good world myself so I decided to use Worm’s world. It’s really fascinating and I hope to get you familiar with it but also make it simple enough that you understand what’s going on. Sometimes I might clarify some things in the notes.
> 
> The focus will be entirely on the sextuplets! Sometimes there may be other povs but that’s just to give different view to the situation and for comic purposes.
> 
> I’ll work on the summary of the fic as we go...
> 
> Anyway this is only a short first chapter, introducing this world a little.
> 
> Rustfeather and tot helped me with the chapter, thank you both, especially Rustfeather, who has been planning this with me from the beginning <3
> 
> Enjoy!

“I need money. Someone lend me a little,” Osomatsu whined. “Karamatsu, be a good brother and give onii-chan some,” he said, trying to pressure Karamatsu, who would be the most likely to give him any. The sextuplets were hanging in their room, minding their own businesses as the oldest had spoken up.

Karamatsu frowned, trying to think how to refuse. “Well, brother-”

“Don’t give him anything,” Choromatsu said without lifting his gaze from his magazine. “He’d just use it to beer or gambling or something equally as stupid.”

“Hey! What kind of image do you have of me?!” Osomatsu said as if offended.

“Realistic,” Choromatsu said back.

Osomatsu chuckled. “Well, okay. I want a beer. Is that so wrong?” With his finger he rubbed the underside of his nose, grinning.

Choromatsu closed his magazine to glare at the oldest, opening his mouth to say something but Todomatsu beat him to it:

“Well, it kind of is. We should save all the money we can and use it only to necessities, but I can’t really blame you,” the youngest said. The three youngests were idly watching tv. “I waste money on things that I don’t really need but that I want all the time,” he sighed.

“Exactly! So I can drink beer with good conscience!” the oldest said, nodding once to Totty’s comment.

“No! That’s all wrong, you-” Choromatsu snapped but then sighed and shook his head slightly, opening his magazine again. “Do whatever you like, I don’t care. Just be careful not to get involved into anything,” he said.

“You know that this area is dangerous,” Karamatsu reminded the oldest.

“I know that,” Osomatsu said. Of course he knew it. “But if no one will lend me any money, there’s no point of going out since I couldn’t buy anything.” Sighing, he slumped down to lay on the floor on his back.

“It’s getting dark,” Ichimatsu stated.

Jyushimatsu nodded his head. “It’s not good going out in the dark unless you have to,” he said. “The villain groups are active.”

“Not to mention gangs,” Totty added.

“I know. But I just wish I could have some beer,” the oldest continued his whining.

“Couldn’t you just shut up about it?” Choromatsu said, tired of the constant whining. “Oh Jyushimatsu, can you turn up the volume?” he asked as he cast a look on the tv screen. There was a program about parahumans going on. It was the same old thing as always but they were still really interesting and Choromatsu liked knowing a lot about them, especially the ones operating in the city. He couldn’t help being a fan of some of the heroes, especially pretty women.

People with superpowers, called parahumans or often capes, started to emerge in the 80s. After that their number started to grow, but still they formed only a small fragment of the population. The society had been forced to adapt to these new individuals with powers so strong that some of them could easily destroy cities. The growing number of villains making havoc had been answered by forming groups of heroes and other government organizations, dealing with threats caused by parahumans. In the USA, where the Matsuno family was now living, such an organization was called Parahuman Response Team or PRT for short.

Some years ago Japan had fallen into chaos after a disaster and never recovered. It had been a miraculous luck that Matsuzo’s company had offices outside Japan and they had enabled some of the workers to move out from the fallen country. With a lot of luck Matsuzo had gotten a transfer to Boston, USA. That’s where the whole family lived now.

Things hadn’t been too easy for them. The only place they could afford to live was a crowded apartment in an apartment building in a rather shady neighbourhood. Their apartment was small. It had two bedrooms, one for their parents and one for the sextuplets, a kitchen, a bathroom and a hallway. It wasn’t enough for them but it had to do. They didn’t have money for anything better. There were gangs in the area which meant drugs, insecurity and violence just to mention a few. Boston was a big city which naturally lead to a big number of heroes and villains operating in the area. Countryside would have been much safer place to live but they didn’t have an option.

Both Matsuzo and Matsuyo were working long days to provide livelihood to their family. Even the sextuplets had tried to find some odd jobs but with little luck. Only Todomatsu had managed to land a job, doing occasionally weekend shifts at a gas station. The six of them didn’t have any experience or knowledge and their English had been really bad at first. They were good at it now after a few years of daily practice but it had been a lot of work. Normally broke NEETs like them would just join some gang. They hadn’t, thanks to their parents working hard to give them what they needed but it would be really easy to just slip down that road.

The sextuplets, who had always been the scum of the society, hadn’t had easy time trying to integrate into the new society after moving away from their home and country. They hadn’t managed very well and they were maybe even more isolated than before if possible. Again Totty was the only one of them who had made a few friends through his job. The other five never were known for their social skills and thus had little luck creating friendships.

Most of the brothers were watching the tv with varying level of interest. Osomatsu was casting glances on it but sighing bored every now and then. Karamatsu was paying more attention to his mirror and Todomatsu on his phone than to the program. Ichimatsu tried not to show his interest as he watched the tv from the corner of his eye. Jyushimatsu was following it excitedly but he became distracted by every sound he heard or any movement his brothers made. Choromatsu was the only one who was openly following the program with focus and interest.

Osomatsu grumbled, sitting up and stretching his arms and back. “We must at least have something good to eat?” he said.

“Why don’t you go look if you can find anything?” Choromatsu said slightly annoyed, hoping that Osomatsu would leave even for a short moment.

The oldest stood up. “I hope mom and dad will bring something good when they come home,” he muttered as he made his way to the kitchen. Jyushimatsu jumped up to his feet and followed after him like a puppy.

Soon there was knocking on the door to which no one reacted at first. After a moment had passed, Todomatsu looked up from his phone, glaring at his brothers. “Don’t all rush at the same time!” he said as he stood up. “Geez, how lazy can you be!” he complained, starting to walk to the door while tapping his phone again. Choromatsu cast a quick glare at the youngest but otherwise none of them paid any attention to him.

Todomatsu walked to the door, wondering if either one of their parents had forgotten their keys. He opened the door, his eyes glued on the phone. “Yeah-”

Before he could react, a gun was pressed against his forehead. His eyes widened in shock and he froze completely, not letting out a sound.

“Hello, Osomatsu,” a woman that was holding the gun said in a voice that sounded sweet but was dripping with danger. She had a shoulder length dark hair and eyes gleaming with excitement. Behind her stood two men, both rather muscular, the other one black while the other one was tanned but blond.

Very distinctive feature that all of them had were costumes which had all been decorated with many spikes and blades. Even some severed body parts were worked into their costumes, such as teeth, eyes or fingers, making them look like dangerous lunatics. They seemed excited and happy of how they were controlling the situation and seeing the pure fear in Todomatsu’s eyes.

Todomatsu was barely able to breathe from how terrified he was. He knew who these people were and that didn’t promise anything good. If they had come all the way here, he and his brothers would be dead, no question. They were members of The Teeth, a villain group known for their excessive violence. Their members might or might not have powers, but they did have guns.

Todomatsu was in panic. What could he do?! He could die any second! Why were they there?! Oh, god!! What the fuck should he do?!!

“What is it, Osomatsu?” the woman spoke again. “Why are you so quiet? Is it not fun anymore?” she almost purred.

Osomatsu? They thought he was Osomatsu? What the hell had the oldest done?! If Totty was a noble person, he should have played along and tried to get them to move out quickly before the others noticed in order to protect his brothers. But he was scared and he could die and it must all have been Osomatsu’s fault!

“Hey, who’s-” Osomatsu started, walking out from the kitchen and fell silent instantly.

“Osomatsu-niisan!!” Todomatsu squeaked high-pitched. He stood his back turned to the oldest and couldn’t see what was happening or his brother’s expression. Maybe Osomatsu couldn’t see that he had a gun pressed against his head either.

“Todomatsu. Come here,” the oldest said in an uncharacteristically calm voice.

“Oh! What’s happening here?” the woman said a little surprised but excited. She pushed Todomatsu few steps backwards and to the side, keeping the gun at the place. Tears had started to gather into Totty’s eyes and now he could see the oldest from the corner of his eye. Osomatsu was looking at the gun with wide, shocked eyes, extremely tense.

“What’s-” Karamatsu asked, appearing to the doorway of their room. The others were following behind him and Jyushimatsu was making his way towards the kitchen doorway to follow the oldest.

“Stay back!” Osomatsu said sharper and all the brothers froze, sensing the atmosphere. He turned to look back at Todomatsu and lifted his hands up calmly. “Please, let my brother go. You want me,” he said again surprisingly calmly but there was a panicked undertone in his voice and his eyes were reflecting his fear.

“You’re Osomatsu?” the black man said, taking a few steps closer and pointing a second gun at Osomatsu that he had taken out. He smiled unfriendly. “Excellent.”

“Osomatsu-niisan!” Jyushimatsu exclaimed, worried for his brother and stepping into the view. He halted as he saw the full situation and as two guns were pointed at him by both of the men. Quickly the other one returned to point at Osomatsu.

“Jyushimatsu, you idiot…” Osomatsu muttered, feeling how the situation got worse and worse. It wouldn’t end well for them. He knew that but for once he had to try to act like the oldest. “Please, let my family be, they have done nothing,” he said, trying hard to keep his voice even.

The woman was beaming by now. “How many of you are there? Oh, this is exciting! But why are the rest so shy? Come here! Come here or I’ll hurt this one!” she called with bright voice, forcing Totty to bend his neck back as she pressed the gun harder against his head. Silent tears were slowly streaming from the youngest’s eyes as he trembled, staring at the gun pressed against his forehead.

It didn’t take more than a second or two before the rest three brothers stepped into the hallway behind Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu, holding their palms up, showing that they didn’t have any weapons. Their eyes were wide with horror and breathing fast and anxious.

“This is all of us. Don’t hurt Todomatsu,” Karamatsu said, the fact that his brothers were threatened with guns making him physically sick. No matter how much he wanted to save them, there was nothing he could think of that could help.

“Everybody against the wall,” the woman ordered, her gun never leaving from Totty. Some of the brothers shared a scared looks before they moved to stand against the hallway’s wall next to Todomatsu.

The two men pointed them with guns and checked the rest of the apartment. “This is everyone,” the blond man said.

“Please! My brothers haven’t done anything,” Osomatsu said. “Just take me and let’s go somewhere else to solve this.” He was terrified. He was definitely going to die if The Teeth had sought him out but if there was any change the others wouldn’t need to share his fate, he’d take it.

The woman laughed which made unpleasant shivers go down the brothers’ spines. “Oh, we will go somewhere else, but you’re all coming!” she said. Then she backed down a few steps, creating space between her and Todomatsu but keeping her gun pointed at him. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go! This is gonna be so much fun!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Okay so quick notes: They live in USA. A parahuman = a person with superpowers (also called a cape). Superpowers can be received through a traumatic event (that’s where we’re going).
> 
> First they must suffer, then the fun can start!
> 
> I don’t really know what to say. I’ve been working on this for a long time. I have so many things I wanted to say but now I can’t remember anything.
> 
> Maybe you’ll read the next chapter? Please?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have been kidnapped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!
> 
> Wow! I'm so surprised how much attention the first chapter got! I was honestly expecting like 40-50 hits. Thank you so much!!
> 
> So, today were going to traumatise the boys. Isn't that fun? This is all Oso pov so I'm sorry for lot of things staying unclear for now. There's a lot happening but I hope it's still understandable. There's also some small things from Worm that you won't understand if you haven't read it. They're not very meaningful for the fic but I have them there to follow the canon. This chapter is long because I wasn't so cruel as to cut this.
> 
> Okay, so few things. First, I forgot to say but actually I haven't finished reading Worm. Whoops. Second, when someone gets powers they and every parahuman nearby passes out for a short moment. Also they'll have this weird vision that they forget immediately after. Third, I had no idea what some characters from Worm looks like so I just came up with something. Also the way they use powers may be a little incorrect.
> 
> Betaread by Rustfeather!
> 
> Now, enjoy!!

There was nothing they could have done when guns were pointed to them, except to do as they were told. They walked quietly at the streets, numb in fear, as they were led somewhere that could easily be the last place they’d ever set their feet on.

Osomatsu was terrified. This was The Teeth and they were definitely going to die. Why? Why did this have to happen?! Osomatsu wasn’t really fond of himself in general but he had never before hated himself as much as he did now. He had fucked up really badly and now not only he but his brothers too would pay the price.

He clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw started aching. He wanted to scream but he didn’t dare to make a sound. If he could even save the others! They had done nothing and didn’t deserve this.

Osomatsu glanced at his brothers walking behind him over his shoulder. It was a sad sight and made his heart ache. Choromatsu, who was walking right behind the oldest, seemed to be having some sort of a panic attack. He was pale and clenching the front of his shirt with his hands anxiously. His breathing was shallow and fast and he was staring at the ground with a hazy look. He only barely managed to keep his footing as he stumbled at times.

Osomatsu reached to touch his arm lightly, which made the third oldest jump and let out a small whimper. Their eyes met, Choromatsu’s panicked and teary look with Osomatsu’s regretful and fearful one, and Osomatsu could do nothing but to look at him sympathetically. He couldn’t say it would be okay. Even he couldn’t lie that much in a situation like this.

The woman appeared next to them and nudged Osomatsu to walk onward with her gun. Then she looked at Choromatsu and brushed his hair disturbingly. The third oldest had to bit his lip not to scream or whimper. “You’re so cute! Did you just squeak? That was such a pretty sound! Oh, you’re afraid. Don’t be. We’re just gonna have fun!” she singsonged.

Osomatsu wanted to hurt her badly.

As he took another look behind, he saw how Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu were walking close together, their pinky fingers tangled together to hold each other. Ichimatsu seemed genuinely afraid and panicked, all of his normal boredom, gloominess and anger nowhere to be seen. Jyushimatsu wasn’t smiling. Instead his expression was serious and pupils wide which looked really wrong on his face. Both of them stared to the ground, distant look in their eyes.

Behind them Todomatsu was clinging on Karamatsu’s arm and sobbing quietly, judging by the way he was shaking. Karamatsu was petting his arm with his free hand, staring darkly ahead, looking like he could start crying any moment as well. His eyes met Osomatsu’s, the look in them full of mixed emotions.

Osomatsu looked at him intensely, trying to say that he was sorry with his look. His brothers had to know that he loved them and that he never would have imagined anything like this could happen. Karamatsu blinked his eyes slowly and averted his gaze. It felt like daggers stabbing the oldest’s heart. Osomatsu wanted to reach out to him but he couldn’t. They had been told to walk fast and stay quiet. He didn’t dare to defy the orders.

After a few more minutes of walking, the black man, who was walking next to Osomatsu, said: “We’re here.” He motioned them to slow down and went ahead to open a door to an abandoned looking building.

“Go on!” the blond man urged. Taking a glance at his brothers, Osomatsu stepped inside first, his heart beating anxiously with fear. The others followed after him.

The area around the door was dim and, needless to say, the whole place was really shady and promised nothing good. It looked just like those places that if you went there, something really bad would happen to you. As they walked further inside, they got into a big, hall-like room that was lit up with cold fluorescent lights, making everything look scary and unfriendly. There weren’t many furnitures in the room, just some crates, chairs and a table. A corridor started from one side of the room but Osomatsu couldn’t see where it led.

Suddenly the oldest was shoved roughly on the back and he struggled to stay upright. “On your knees to the ground! All of you!” the black man barked.

Hastily all six of them kneeled down to the dirty ground and they were kicked and arranged until they were forming a row. From the right to the left their order was Osomatsu, Ichimatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Todomatsu and Jyushimatsu. The two men started to tie their hands behind their backs roughly, not caring when some of them yelped in pain if their arms were bent too much.

In the nearly empty room it was easy to hear more people walking in from the way many steps echoed. Osomatsu’s heart was fluttering in panic but he didn’t dare to look behind himself. He didn’t want to see.

“Well, well! What do we have here?” a new female voice asked, getting closer to them.

“Oh, hi! One of these guys cheated at poker when Matt was playing too, so of course we can’t let things like that go unpunished,” the female kidnapper explained. “We went to get him but there were six of them! This is so exciting, isn’t this?!” Her excitement disgusted the oldest.

Osomatsu had no idea who the hell Matt was but he cursed himself for ever being as stupid as to cheat when gambling. He wasn’t blind. He had clearly seen how suspicious his company had been as well as the shady backroom of the bar. So how could he have been that stupid?! Fucking idiot!! He should have known it would blow up to his face and he would pay for it.

A handful of new people, all wearing similarly decorated, scary, yet in some perverted way cool clothes as the first three, appeared in front of the brothers. Some of them were looking almost uninterested but most were smirking excitedly. What was common to them all, was the way they looked them down, despising the six of them. Osomatsu kept his gaze on the floor, feeling like he could throw up from the fear.

A new woman, probably the one that had been speaking, took a step closer. She had brown skin, braided hair, decorated with spiky teeth and claws, and the look in her eyes was sharp. She didn’t stand out among everyone else, due to similar way every one of them was dressed, but people showed her some respect with small gestures. She smiled lopsidedly as she crossed her arms and eyed the sextuplets. “This is unexpected,” she said and turned to look at the three kidnappers. They made way to let her and some other of the new arrivals to step to the front. “Are you sure they’re just regular humans?” the new woman continued.

The blond guy shrugged. “Pretty sure. They didn’t try to fight or anything.”

The braided woman turned to look at the six of them again. “Interesting. They’re so identical,” she said, walked closer and took a hold on Karamatsu’s chin, tilting it up. “Are you brothers?” she asked, her voice rather deep and smooth.

Osomatsu’s mouth was dry as he stared, heart hammering in his chest, at Karamatsu, who avoided looking the woman in the eyes. He prayed that the second oldest would speak as little as possible, to not piss off these people. Osomatsu was breathing anxiously. He didn’t want anyone touching his brothers. Why was he so useless?! Why couldn’t he do anything?!

Karamatsu’s adam’s apple bobbled as he swallowed. “Yes,” he answered timidly with a high-pitched voice.

The woman let go and crossed her arms again. “Interesting,” she repeated. Then a sick smile appeared on her face. “That’s only going to make this much more fun, right guys?” she asked and got agreeing sounds and chuckles as a response. She licked her lips and let her gaze travel from brother to brother. “I hope you love each other. Then it will be much more painful for you to watch your brothers being tortured and eventually killed.” Her tone was cold and it made shivers of horror go down the oldest’s spine.

Osomatsu had never felt as sick as he was feeling right now. They were all completely helpless in front of these people. Since they already were there, there was no way he could save his brothers anymore. But how could he just give up? If he angered them, would they take the worst out on him or would it make any change? Or would it only make it worse for his brothers? He let his eyes travel at the five of them and seeing them looking so small, weak and scared to death made his heart break.

“ _ Why did I do it? I knew I shouldn’t have cheated! It had been okay before but I knew it would bite me back sooner or later. Why?! How fucking stupid am I?! I lost it all in the end anyway so it was all for nothing! Everybody knows how dangerous it is to gamble in those kind of places, with those kind of people! Oh god why?! It’s all my fault! My brothers are going to die because of me and my stupidity!! Why why why why?!! What the fuck can I do?!” _

Suddenly, Karamatsu opened his mouth: “Please! Spare my brothers! I’m begging you! Do whatever you want with me, I don’t care and I’ll let you do it too if you just let them go, please!” he begged frantically, eyes wet with unshed tears.

Osomatsu felt like his heart stopped as Karamatsu started speaking. Idiot! What was he doing?! He should shut his mouth immediately and not make himself the first target! Osomatsu could see how the other brothers were also giving Karamatsu scared and shocked looks.

The people in front of them snickered and some of them shared amused looks. The woman’s face fell a little as he stared down at the second oldest. “If you look around you, you understand the situation you’re in. It doesn’t look so good for any of you, does it? None of you are leaving this place, you’re completely at our mercy and you’ll all suffer as much as we want you to,” she said, her expression turning hard and unkind.

“How long are you planning on talking?” a man from the crowd asked, walking forward until he was right behind the woman. He was average height, average built, but a remarkably big scar from his ear to his chin gave his face crude personality.

The woman with braids turned to look at him. “You never have the patience, Spree,” she said. She studied the brothers’ faces closely when suddenly a sharp looking, blood colored spike or blade pushed out from her wrist, from the side of the back of her hand, penetrating her skin. The blade grew longer until it reached over her finger tips. No blood flowed out from the wound but somehow Osomatsu had a sick feeling that the blade actually was made from her blood. The Teeth was a villain group and although most of the members didn’t have superpowers, there were those who had them and actually witnessing the woman having some, left Osomatsu frozen in horror.

The woman smiled satisfied as she watched the horror on the sextuplets’ faces and turned to look at the man next to her. “You never get tired of the look of terror on peoples’ faces when they see your powers, do you?” she asked, brushing her fingers over her just formed blade.

The man shrugged. “No.”

“Now,” the woman continued, her voice turning dangerous. “Where should we start? Anyone has any good ideas?”

“I just wanna crack some bones,” a random guy said.

“I want something new to my costume,” said another one.

“You know what I like,” said the black skinned man, who had been one of the kidnappers.

“Can I please severe one’s limbs off when they’re still alive?” someone from the group asked.

“Ooh!” the female kidnapper shouted, suddenly excited. “I say we start with the youngest!” she said, eyes shining.

Osomatsu felt how a cold, heavy feeling sank at the bottom of his stomach. It felt so unreal. He glanced at Todomatsu, who’s eyes were still flowing with tears. The youngest was staring wide-eyed, full of terror, to the ground in front of himself and seemed to be having trouble with breathing.

This couldn’t be happening. “ _ They really should start with me,”  _ Osomatsu thought, feeling like he could suffocate to the lump in his throat.

“I like that,” said someone from the group.

The woman with the blood blade nodded approvingly. She turned to look at the brothers with a dark smile. “Who’s the youngest?” she asked, not raising her voice but everything about her said that she demanded for an answer.

There was two seconds of silence and then both Osomatsu and Karamatsu said simultaneously: “I am.” The two of them turned to look at each other, eyes wide with fear. They were both shocked that the other had tried to sacrifice himself, but the even worse thing in their mind was that they had screwed it up.

“Yeah, right,” said the black skinned man. “It’s neither one of you.”

Was it possible for Osomatsu to panic even more? He wasn’t sure. Any second now his world might end if his brothers were killed. The villains in front of them could do it so easily. Osomatsu knew he had to do something. He wanted to do something!

Yet, he wasn’t opening his mouth. He was such a coward. He hated himself.

“No! Take me! Pick me!” Karamatsu shouted, panicking.

One of the men, who had been standing quietly on the back, stepped forward and slapped Karamatsu harshly across the cheek with the back of his hand. His face turned to the side from the force of the hit, the second oldest only took a sharp breath but otherwise stayed quiet and lifted his head up again to meet the woman’s eyes, his look full desperation and determination.

“Hey!” Osomatsu shouted as Karamatsu had been hit. He couldn’t stop himself, but as everyone turned to look at him, he thought if it had been clever to draw the attention to himself.

“Shut up or you’ll be gagged,” the woman with superpowers said and swallowing Osomatsu didn’t dare to say anything else. The woman studied their faces again and stopped to stare at Ichimatsu. “No, I don’t think it’s you,” she said and took a step to the other end of their line. It was like someone was savaging Osomatsu’s heart as he watched how his little brothers were trembling in terror and crying quietly.

The woman’s gaze stopped to Jyushimatsu. The second youngest stared back at her, eyes wide with fear and not a trace of a smile left. After a couple of seconds she broke the eye contact and turned to look at Choromatsu and Todomatsu, who were both keeping their gazes glued on the ground.

A small smile spread on her lips as she placed her blood blade carefully under Choromatsu’s chin and made him lift his head. His lower lip trembling and swallowing down sobs, the third brother hesitantly met her eyes. “Hello. Are you the youngest?” the parahuman asked, circling the tip of the blade on the underside of his chin. Osomatsu could see it cutting Choromatsu’s skin and a thin line of blood starting to flow down the blade.

Choromatsu was nearly hyperventilating. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and he cast a quick look at Karamatsu on his side before looking back to the woman. On his other side Todomatsu kept staring to the ground, still crying silently.

Choromatsu took a hiccupping breath and opened his mouth. “I-I am,” he said in a scared, wavery voice.

“I-it is me!” Todomatsu sobbed suddenly and started crying louder, not muffling the sobs anymore. All the brothers turned to look at him in horror. Next to the youngest Choromatsu tried to meet his eyes and shook his head the tiniest bit.

“Todomatsu, don’t play a hero,” Karamatsu said in a grave voice.

“It’s him,” the scarface next to the parahuman woman said. “I think he’s telling the truth.” Suddenly, out of nowhere two identical clones appeared next to him, striding forward and grabbing a hold of Todomatsu’s arms.

Osomatsu felt like his heart stopped in terror momentarily. There were two parahumans?! This one was being able to make clones of himself?! They didn’t have a chance, probably never had. Still, despite of how pathetic, horrified and helpless he felt, these people were going to hurt his little brother and there was no way he could just let it happen!

Hell broke loose and everything happened at the same time. The youngest Matsuno let out a scared yell and started struggling as the clones took a hold of him. Osomatsu and Karamatsu started shouting for them to let go and Choromatsu tried to move in front of Todomatsu, making it harder for the clones to pull the youngest away. Jyushimatsu let out a shrieking shout and bit right into one’s arm. He was torn off from his hair and kicked harshly to the chin. The second youngest yelped in pain and hold his chin, grimazing.

All of the brothers were screaming, some less intelligibly than the others. Karamatsu stood up and tried to tackle the nearest clone to the ground. Osomatsu was on his feet right after him, going for his brothers’ help. Before neither of them could do anything to actually help, more clones appeared next to them, taking a hold of them, holding them back and forcing them back to their knees.

Karamatsu was struggling against the firm grip of the clones, looking at his younger brothers in panic. “Don’t touch them!! No, Todomatsu!! Choromatsu! Jyushimatsu! Let him go and take me instead!!” he shouted desperately.

Osomatsu was trying to hurt the clones, which were keeping him at place, in every way he possibly could. However, it didn’t seem to do much as he kicked and elbowed them. They didn’t seem to react to the pain. “Let go of me you bastards!! Don’t fucking touch any of them!! I’ll kill you all! I swear, I will!!”

Their attempts to do something were all in vain and Todomatsu was being pulled to the center of everyone while he thrashed and screamed. The members of The Teeth looked way too happy watching his desperation.

The woman with the blood blade stepped in front of Osomatsu and kicked him to the face without a warning. The oldest yelled in pain but before he could recover, she took a hold of his hair and pulled it, forcing him to meet her eyes. “You’re feisty, I like that. I believe you’re the oldest. Is that true?” she asked, her face way too close to his.

Osomatsu tried to spat blood on her face but reached only her chest with his bloody spit. He glared up at her in hatred. “Yes. So let my brothers go and focus on me instead. I was the one you wanted. Fuckers!” he growled.

“Oh no. You’ll be watching everything and be the last one left alive after all of your brothers have been tortured and killed. I can assure you, it’ll be more horrible than you could ever imagine,” she said, tilting his head painfully backwards. “Or how could I know? Maybe you like that kind of stuff,” she added and a sick smile appeared on her face.

Osomatsu stared at her, shaking with fury, disgust and fear. He tried to lung forward but failed as the clones were still holding onto him. “Don’t you fucking dare!! I’ll fucking kill you bitch!! Let me free and I’ll smash your repulsive face in!!” he roared.

Suddenly the sharp tip of the blood blade was only half an inch away from Osomatsu’s left eye which made him froze. “I enjoy hearing your pathetic, desperate threats but there’s a limit to everything,” she said. “Wait for your turn.” Then she looked at her teammates and nodded.

The clones holding the Matsunos were replaced by real gang members and the clone maker parahuman made new clones that he sent to grab a hold of Jyushimatsu and haul him away. “I’ll take him,” he said, starting to walk away, the clones dragging the fifth brother.

Jyushimatsu was yelling, struggling and kicking but it was no use against four clones. Osomatsu tried to wrench himself free but wasn’t any luckier. “Jyushimatsu!! You fuckers!! Don’t take him away!! Jyushimatsu!!”

“Jyushimatsu!” Ichimatsu had sprung on his feet and tried to dash to his immediate younger brother. After only couple of steps he received a nasty kick to the stomach and he doubled over. The kicker hauled him up by the arm and punched him to the face.

“Ichimatsu!!” Karamatsu screamed.

The kicker looked at another guy and said: “I guess he’s as good as anyone?”

The other man smiled a toothy grin. “Sure!” Then the two of them started to drag Ichimatsu to another direction from where Jyushimatsu was being taken.

The fourth brother was gasping for breath, looking like he was in pain. “J-Jyushimatsu- Jyushimatsu!” he called with an unsteady, desperate voice, trying to reach his hands towards the screaming and kicking second youngest.

So much was happening at the same time. Osomatsu was thrashing against the hold of the two men, feeling so weak and desperate. He had to help his brothers! It was all his fault! When he was focusing his attention on the fourth and fifth brother, Todomatsu’s sudden scream of pain pierced the air. When Osomatsu screamed the youngest’s name and turned to look at him, he didn’t even know what the monsters had done to him. He just saw how the youngest was being hold down to the ground on his stomach, one person sitting on his legs while the other hold his neck down and was doing something. Osomatsu couldn’t see more than a glimpse of Totty’s face but he seemed to be sobbing and gasping in sharp breaths. He couldn’t hear over everyone’s screaming if he was saying anything. A beat and then Todomatsu let out another terrible, blood-chilling scream.

“Todomatsu!! Todomatsu!! Stop! Please stop hurting them!!” Osomatsu shouted. He felt sick. His heart skipped a beat as he realised that he could no longer see Ichimatsu nor Jyushimatsu, but he could still hear somewhat muffled screams and shouts of the second youngest, who tried to scream his brothers’ names. He was screaming also for Osomatsu.

He couldn’t do anything to help him.

Karamatsu was screaming and crying next to Osomatsu. His voice was filled with agony, desperation and horror but being held down, he was just as helpless as the oldest. Behind him Osomatsu could see Choromatsu sobbing, his eyes closed and head hanging low while shaking uncontrollably and taking shallow and staggered breaths. He seemed like he could actually just pass out from the loss of oxygen, but as sad as it was, Osomatsu didn’t have time for him.

Osomatsu could see how the two people hurting Totty were discussing about something but he couldn’t hear what over Karamatsu’s continuing shouting and cries. Todomatsu’s crying reached another peak as he screamed with supposedly a new wave of pain. It was killing Osomatsu. And he didn’t even know what was being done to him. “Stop!! Please! Todomatsu!! What the fuck are you doing to him?! Stop!!” he screamed.

Suddenly the parahuman woman was again next to Osomatsu. She kept her gaze on Todomatsu, looking elated. “They’re just having fun with your brother. Looks like his fingers are suffering the most of it for now,” she said.

Osomatsu swallowed but his mouth was dry. Fingers?! It was so sick and wrong and fucked up. Even Karamatsu had paused his screaming for a moment to listen to the woman but then he continued as frantic as before, abusing his already hoarse voice.

The parahuman woman walked over to the youngest which made Karamatsu to stop screaming for a moment again to hear what were spoken. Totty was sobbing and heaving in short, erratic breaths. The woman crouched down next to him and jerked his head up from the hair violently. “I think I should have my part of the fun with you,” she said with a low and dangerous voice. “I’m contemplating between skinning your scalp or severing your hand,” she said and Osomatsu was pretty sure she already made a tiny cut on Totty’s forehead. “Which one do you prefer?”

Todomatsu was whimpering and sobbing pathetically, his words so weak and shaky that Osomatsu nearly didn’t catch what he was saying. “N-no, pl-please… I-I- pl-please!” the youngest sobbed.

“N-no-!” Karamatsu cried with a broken voice, his tears not ceasing to flow down. “Stop!! Don’t!!”

The woman reached for Totty’s bound wrists and now Osomatsu was sure she made a cut. Totty’s whimpers and pleads for mercy turned soon into panicked, frantic screams and pleas. Blood started flowing from the cut.

Osomatsu heard how the two men holding his arms were chuckling disgustingly. He felt weak from the terror and disgust. It couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be happening! What the fuck would he do?! A sob escaped his lips.

The oldest knew he couldn’t break down just yet. He had to do something! He didn’t care if he would get himself killed, especially since he’d die anyway, but he couldn’t just watch as his brothers were being killed slowly in front of him! He swallowed hard to get rid of the stubborn lump that was making his breathing harder.

Todomatsu screamed more and a desperate whimper escaped Osomatsu’s lips. If he could just- His teary eyes widened slightly as he realized how much the men’s hold of him had loosened. He might be able to get free now that they were focused on Todomatsu. It was probably the only and the best chance he’d have.

He didn’t think of anything but his terrible need to do something as he suddenly got up and dashed forward, wrenching his arms free from the men’s hold. His heart was racing in his chest when he landed a hard kick on the parahuman woman’s face and the next one on the side of the other man holding Totty on the ground. If his hands only weren’t bound, he could do so much more. Osomatsu knew he had to keep on attacking but he couldn’t stop himself from halting in horror as he got a better look at the youngest.

Todomatsu was laying on the ground on his stomach, hands tied behind his back and eyes screwed tightly shut as he took in pained gasps between strained sobs. He was whimpering softly. Osomatsu stared at his little brother’s bloodied, mangled fingers and hands in horror. What the fuck had the sick bastards done to his brother?! His wrist had been cut. Osomatsu knew he had to do something about it and stop the bleeding quickly before-

“-matsu!! Osomatsu!!”

Startled, Osomatsu swung his head to the side to take a look over his shoulder. Karamatsu was screaming his name in a high-pitched, frantic, raw voice as loud as he could. He didn’t stop even as he got punched in the face. His blood chilling, Osomatsu realized how the two men, who had been holding him, were coming for him. In addition to that there was the two men that had been torturing Totty as well as the parahuman. He breathed quickly as he whipped his head from side to side in alarm and panic, trying to think of something to do to save himself.

He kicked the man again and glanced quickly at Karamatsu and Choromatsu behind him. Two villains were having their hands full, holding screaming Karamatsu down, but Choromatsu was just hunched on the ground alone. “Choromatsu, snap out of it!!” Osomatsu shouted from the top of his lungs. “Find Ichi and Jyushi!!”

Osomatsu didn’t have time to see if Choromatsu would take the chance and try helping their brothers as a sharp kick landed on his side, tripping him and then kicks were bruising him left and right. He gasped sharply in pain and let out yells as the kicks landed on him.

“That’s enough,” the woman’s voice said and Osomatsu curled up to his side in pain before he attempted to get on his feet but failed, unable to use his hands as support. Rough hands took a hold of his hair and shoulder and hauled him up and he was brought face to face with the woman. She was looking at him arms crossed and irritated. She had scratches where Osomatsu had kicked her, her cheek bruising, but there was no bleeding.

“Fine, you got my attention,” the woman spat and the blood blade in her hand disappeared. The blood changed form and shaped into knuckle dusters in both of her hands. Suddenly she snapped her head to the side. “Hey! Catch him!” she shouted and Osomatsu could see a glimpse of Choromatsu, running to the direction Jyushimatsu had been dragged. Two men went after him. The oldest tried to shout his name but couldn’t make his voice come out.

The parahuman in front of him grabbed a hold of his chin and wrenched his face towards her. She looked pissed. Osomatsu’s mouth was dry and eyes wide with horror. He knew he would die. Most likely really painfully.

“I’m glad you’re making this more interesting, but now I’m running out of patience,” the woman snarled. “Let go of him,” she said and the person holding Osomatsu let go. A punch landed hard to his face, already breaking his nose, as the villain woman hit him.

Hits and punches began mauling and abusing Osomatsu’s body. The blood weapons were as hard as steel and their sharp edges cut his skin, making him bleed. Osomatsu could barely catch any glimpses of what was happening around him, unable to recover between the hits. He only knew the unbearable pain and the feeling of being so vulnerable and useless, his hands tied behind his back. Every time he stumbled and fell, someone picked him up roughly, only for the beating to continue.

Osomatsu felt like the beating had continued for hours even if it would have most likely been only a minute or two when a man suddenly ran next to the villain beating him. Osomatsu stood folded over, trying to breath while blood dripped to the floor from his nose and mouth.

“Hemorrhagia! It’s Blasto! His monster just attacked!” a man shouted nearly out of breath but there was a worried edge to his voice.

“Shit. Why the hell does he have to crash the party?” the woman said irritated but even she sounded alarmed. “Get ready. I’ll continue with this for a moment longer.” She hit Osomatsu again, making him stagger to stay upright.

The pain peaked with every new punch, making Osomatsu’s breathing hitch. He couldn’t fight back. If he only had his hands free, he might even have a false feeling of a small chance. Now, however, bound and unarmed, he was completely useless. There was nothing he could do to the fact that he and his brothers, who had nothing to do with all this shit, would die.

The beating stopped for a short moment, during which Osomatsu laid sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath. Every movement of his rising and falling chest was painful. His ears were ringing, his vision was blurry and the disorientation made his thoughts slow. The pain was demanding every fraction of his attention. It felt like he had only had a second of peace when he was pulled up to his feet again and the parahuman woman continued his beating, starting with a nasty punch to his collarbone.

Osomatsu had been vaguely aware of Karamatsu crying and screaming his and Todomatsu’s names and pleading for mercy. It was a much louder, wordless scream that really truly got registered into his hazy mind. The piercing, long scream was definitely Karamatsu, even if the voice was too strong, too raw and incredibly desperate. Something about it felt so emphatic that it broke whatever was left of Osomatsu’s heart.

Even the woman hitting him stopped to take a quick look at Karamatsu before she looked around in alarm. The entire building around them was shaking and creaking. Dust and pieces of concrete started to fall from the roof.

“Fucking Blasto,” she muttered through her teeth before she looked back at Osomatsu. “Sorry, but I don’t have more time for you anymore. Guys, we need to wrap this up!” She kicked Osomatsu to the side before an especially nasty punch hit Osomatsu to the throat and everything went black to the oldest.

For a moment everything disappeared around Osomatsu. Even all the horror and pain was gone. He felt like he was in a vacuum but actually he wasn’t feeling anything. In the middle of the emptiness Osomatsu saw something. There was something living and something moving there. Suddenly everything wasn’t empty anymore but a bare, weird-looking surroundings spread all around him, although in fact he wasn’t really there. He had the view but physically he wasn’t present. The things there were so weird and foreign. He didn’t have time to register or understand what he saw as he opened his eyes and the short, confusing vision slipped away from his mind, soon forgotten.

Osomatsu realized a choked, angry growl raising from his throat, growing into a full roar as he punched the woman violently to the face, breaking her nose and making her fly many meters away and finally slam to the wall before collapsing to the ground.

The oldest was heaving in breaths painfully, every movement making the pain surge stronger through his body. Osomatsu lifted up his hands and saw how the rope, still tied around his other wrist, had snapped broken around the other, making his arms free now.

A pair of hands grabbed a hold of him roughly from behind. Osomatsu spun around and elbowed the woman, who had been one of their kidnappers, to the chest. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground on her back.

“ _ The others!!” _

Osomatsu scanned the room in panic. The building was shaking more than before, its supporting structures giving in little by little. Some of the lights had went off and it was harder to see in the dim room with all the falling dust and concrete.

“Osomatsu!!” Karamatsu shouted, his voice rough and teary, yet loud.

Hurriedly Osomatsu stumbled to him and saw one of the members of The Teeth lying on the ground probably unconscious. Karamatsu was sobbing, his face a complete mess, as he tried to speak but couldn’t form the words. Osomatsu wrapped his arms around him quickly and broke the rope around his wrists with surprising ease. Immediately Karamatsu gripped firmly onto his clothes, burying his face to his chest and sobbing.

Osomatsu wished he could have just stayed there, comforting his brother. However, they had to find and save their younger brothers. He couldn’t let the thought that it might have been too late already to come to his mind. They must have been able to help and save them.

Right after wrapping his arms around his brother, Osomatsu pulled both of them up to their feet. He looked to their side and a cold feeling filled his stomach, tying his guts into knots. “Where’s Todomatsu?!” he asked in a hoarse voice, his throat feeling like it had been cut with razors.

Hastily Karamatsu pushed himself away from Osomatsu’s embrace and staggered a few steps to where the youngest had been. His mouth was hanging open in shock as he turned to face Osomatsu with panicked eyes. “Where is he?!” he croaked, tears falling down his cheeks.

Osomatsu grabbed a hold on his hand and started walking. His eyes widened in alarm as he realized he could smell smoke. There must have been a fire somewhere. If he hadn’t been in such a panic, he would have found it unbelievable. What else?! Maybe they would be hit by a tidal wave next?

“Todomatsu!” the oldest shouted, his throat sore.

“Todomatsu!!” Karamatsu shouted, his voice much louder and stronger despite all the yelling before. His voice echoed everywhere in the room with the rumble of the falling building.

“Niisans!!”

The two oldests snapped their heads towards the sound. Instead of Todomatsu, Jyushimatsu was calling for them as he jogged to them, dragging Choromatsu after himself. The second youngest had cuts and bruises here and there but seemed okay under the circumstances. He had tear tracks on his face and he was still hiccupping, his smile still nowhere to be seen. Choromatsu looked like he had received a beating, although not nearly as bad as Osomatsu, and he seemed to be in some sort of shock. He was staring ahead wide-eyed without looking at anything, shaking and having trouble breathing. Somehow he still managed to move his legs and follow after Jyushimatsu, stumbling, but not tripping over.

Karamatsu sobbed loudly and went to meet them, wrapping both of them into a tight hug. “B-brothers!” he cried.

Osomatsu couldn’t describe how relieved and thankful he felt seeing both of them. “We need to find Totty and Ichimatsu!” he said, getting the three’s attention. Then he started to look around frantically, trying to decide if they should just go where Ichimatsu had been taken or try to find where Totty was. It was hard to see anything in the rather dark room as the air was full of dust. On top of that the rumble and creaks of the building made hearing harder.

“There! Todomatsu!” Karamatsu shouted suddenly and started running, stumbling, towards a dark corner of the room. The other three followed after him, Jyushimatsu still not letting go of the third brother.

“Todomatsu!” Karamatsu was the first one to kneel down to the ground in front of their youngest brother. Totty was laying on the ground on his side, sobbing quietly. Karamatsu tried to open his ropes, taking a sharp, horrified breath. “Oh my god, Todomatsu!” he said, filled with worry. “W-we need to stop the bleeding quickly!”

Osomatsu pushed the second oldest’s hands out of the way, as Karamatsu was still trying to open the knots, and snapped the ropes broken easily. 

“N-niisan…” Totty sobbed weakly, blinking his blurry eyes as he looked at his brothers and tried to inch closer to them.

“We’re here,” Osomatsu said quietly but not managing to make his tone reassuring. In the dim light Osomatsu couldn’t see how bad his wounds and whatever he had suffered was but he knew it was bad. Quickly he sat him up, took off his own shirt and wrapped it around the youngest’s hands haphazardly, lacking anything better to try to stop the bleeding and shield the wounds. He made sure to wrap the sleeve of the shirt tightly around the youngest bleeding wrist

“Oh my god, Totty…” Karamatsu sobbed.

“We have to get out of here now!!”

Nearly jumping from surprise, Osomatsu and the others turned to look at Ichimatsu, who was limping towards them hurriedly. The look in his eyes was panicked and wild.

“Ichimatsu!” Osomatsu shouted over the rumble. “You’re hurt!”

“Of course I’m fucking hurt!” he shouted back. Jyushimatsu had lunged himself to hug him and the fourth born was quick to hug him back with one arm while keeping his focus on the oldest brothers. “We have to go now!! There’s a fucking monster there and the whole building is going down!!”

Osomatsu looked around quickly. They were all there, miraculously still alive. Without wasting more time, he scooped Todomatsu up onto his arms, surprised at how light the youngest felt. He just passed it off as an effect of the adrenaline that surely was pulsing through his veins. “Karamatsu or Jyushimatsu, help Ichimatsu,” he said loudly.

Karamatsu was next to him, looking worried sick and unsure. “Osomatsu, are you sure you can carry him? You’re really badly hurt. I don’t know how you can be still standing.”

“I’m fine but we have to get out now!” he said urgently. Bigger parts of the ceiling were dropping heavily to the ground. They couldn’t get hurt or trapped by those now that they were together, alive and had some hope of surviving.

Jyushimatsu was gripping Ichimatsu’s hand, nodding to Osomatsu, ready to go. Karamatsu took Choromatsu’s hand into his own.

“We have to go!” Ichimatsu hissed urgently, sounding pained.

“Follow me!” Osomatsu said. He felt how Totty leaned to his chest heavily. His eyes were closed and Osomatsu was worried of how much blood he had lost.

The oldest started leading them through the dim room and out of the collapsing building as quickly as he dared to while making sure that everyone was able to keep up. Osomatsu looked to every direction, taking also glances at his brothers practically every other second. He could spot some of The Teeth’s members laying on the ground here and there. He hoped that they would die as the roof gave in.

They were making their way towards where Osomatsu thought the exit was. The narrow corridor that they were running along was getting more filled with smoke, not enough to stop them but it was still alarming, and it was getting hotter. Suddenly one of the doors in front of them in the corridor opened and a woman backed outside, shooting a gun to the room she had just exited.

“Out of the way!” Osomatsu growled and slammed the woman to the wall with a loud smack, grabbing her gun at the same time. As he passed the doorway, what he saw chilled his blood.

There in the room was a monster, most likely the one Ichimatsu had seen. From the glimpse Osomatsu could see, it seemed to be some sort of an animal, having three pairs of lizard-like legs, accompanied with a lizard’s tail. After the first pair of legs, it’s body curved upwards so that it had a humanoid shaped chest and arms. It was sideways to the door but Osomatsu could see feathers covering its head, neck and shoulders and a sharp bird’s beak. It was over two meters tall and longer than that. The creature was screeching and apparently trying to break through the wall or another doorway, where Osomatsu could hear more gunshots being fired.

“Jyushimatsu!!” Ichimatsu shouted in panic and Osomatsu, still running, turned to look over his shoulder to see what had made the fourth brother to cry out. A new wave of terror washed over him.

The second youngest was glancing up to the ceiling ahead of him and Ichimatsu where a big piece of concrete was cracking and about to fall. Hurriedly he lifted Ichimatsu up from the ground and determined ran out of its way, he hurried his steps. He made a dash, the two of them crashing into Karamatsu and Choromatsu. Behind them the piece fell and it was followed by the entire part of the ceiling crumbling to the ground. It had been so close that they would have been crushed under that.

“Hurry!!” Osomatsu shouted. He could already see the door he thought was the front door. He made his legs move even faster and he got there. He tried to open the door but his eyes widening in horror, he realized it was locked and didn’t open. With a desperate grunt, the oldest kicked the door which swung open with force and broke into two halves that were left to hung from the hinges looking sad.

Osomatsu stepped outside, Totty still on his arms, and stepped aside to let his brothers get out. All of them swarmed outside to the cool night air that felt good after the smoky, dusty corridors. It was dark and only here and there were some streetlights on. From the inside the oldest could hear sounds of fighting, gunshots, screeches and the loud rumble as the building kept on collapsing.

Karamatsu was instantly hunched over the youngest. “T-Todomatsu? Say something,” he stuttered as he wiped off hair from his face.

Osomatsu shook Totty. “H-hey, Totty! Are you awake?” he asked urgently.

Todomatsu let out a quiet whimper, while his head was hanging low against his chest, eyes closed.

The two oldests’ eyes met. “We have to get to a hospital. Quick!” Karamatsu said.

Osomatsu nodded. “And we have to keep going. We’re not safe yet.” He looked at the other brothers and now fully noticed how badly Ichimatsu’s leg was bleeding and just how heavily he was leaning onto Jyushimatsu’s shoulder for support. “Oh my god Ichimatsu! Are you okay?!” he shouted.

Everybody turned to look at Ichimatsu, who averted his eyes and bit his lip. “I got shot,” he stated.

“What?!” Karamatsu shrieked so loud that it hurt Osomatsu’s ears. “Ichimatsu! Did you tie it?!”

“W-we have to move!” Choromatsu said panicky and it was the first thing that Osomatsu had heard him say in a while.

“He’s right. Ichimatsu, you-”

“I know!” the fourth brother snapped, took off his hoodie and tied it somehow around the leg. “This is all we have time for,” he said then, meeting Osomatsu’s and Karamatsu’s eyes stubbornly.

Osomatsu couldn’t argue with that so he nodded and started walking hastily away. Karamatsu was quickly fussing over everyone as they walked.

“How badly are you hurt? Tell me if you can’t walk or feel like you’re passing out or something,” he spoke frantically to everyone in turns. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

Osomatsu bit his teeth together in frustration. “Stop it Karamatsu! It’s all my fault!” he said and the words tasted terrible in his mouth. All his fault. They had nearly died because of him and they still could. All because of him.

The brothers turned to look at him and what seemed like a perfect moment for Choromatsu to start yelling at him of how stupid he was, didn’t happen as the third brother seemed still too shaken and out of it to lecture him yet. Osomatsu felt horrible knowing Choromatsu’s tendency to anxiety.

“Yes, it is,” Ichimatsu said firmly, staring at Osomatsu in the eyes with an unwavering look. “But we have now more important things to do. We’ll make you pay later.”

Osomatsu nodded, feeling so ashamed. “Look guys, you know that I would never-”

“We know,” Jyushimatsu said, not looking at him but sounding serious and reassuring.

They fell into silence. What were they supposed to say when people had just been torturing them and been about to kill them? There was nothing to say to make it better.

Suddenly the brothers jumped up scared as they heard loud clattering and rumble from behind them. What was left of the building must have finally collapsed.

As they continued walking, getting slowly to little less shady areas, even if the whole neighbourhood was rather shady, Osomatsu frowned. He was the oldest and on top of that he was at fault for all of this. He had to make sure to get his brothers to safety. He had to take the lead.

“There’s a hospital nearby, right?” he asked, looking at his brothers for confirmation. “It’s ten to fifteen minutes to walk there. We’ll get there faster by walking than finding a phone and calling for help.”

Karamatsu nodded shakily as he led Choromatsu forward. “Please keep Totty awake if you can,” he said surprisingly quietly.

“Of course,” the oldest answered and squeezed Totty a little closer to his chest. “Everybody, try to hold on a little longer. We’ll get help soon,” he reassured. He was sure that the moment he’d get his brothers into the hospital and Totty away from his arms, he’d just collapse right to the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I'm sorry, it was a little all over the place. Hopefully you enjoyed their suffering still?
> 
> Oh, btw, Blasto is a villain. The moster was a chimera like creature that he created and sent to attack The Teeth. I think we'll hear from him later some more, probably.
> 
> I try to start updating this every other Monday, but I'm not sure how long I can keep up that schedule. Next chapter is also Oso pov, but then we'll move to the next brother and see what actually happened to them.
> 
> Yeah, so, umm... I hope you liked it. It can be very confusing but it'll start to make sense.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Osomatsu is an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!
> 
> I just woke up so I don't have any idea of what to say.  
Betaread by Rustfeather.
> 
> Enjoy!

It was the next day after the sextuplets had been kidnapped and almost killed. They had been discharged from the hospital in the morning after the doctors had patched them up. Now they just needed time to heal, physically as well as mentally.

Osomatsu had been right. After Totty had been taken from his arms and wheeled away, his legs had given in under him. He hadn’t lost his consciousness though, even if his body had really wanted to, but he hadn’t given himself a permission to do that. He was the oldest. It had all been his fault and he had had to stay awake for his brothers, to make sure that they would be fine.

They were not fine.

The six of them were in their room, all of them doing their best to cope. Osomatsu was sitting on the floor, leaning to the wall with his back. Everything hurt. He let his eyes travel from brother to brother, feeling plain horrible because of the sorry state they were in.

Todomatsu had been drifting in and out of consciousness. He had a cut wrist that had been bleeding pretty badly and he had gotten a blood transfusion. Three of his fingers had been snapped broken and five of his fingernails had been torn off. He had also bruises around his throat, indicating that he had been choked. When that had happened, Osomatsu didn’t really know and none of them really felt like talking about the experience. The oldest hadn’t really had time to talk with Totty yet after he had woken up and the stronger painkillers’ effect had started to fade. The youngest was really quiet and just laying there on their futon. It was clear that he was in pain and what was even more worrying, was that he wasn’t whining or asking for attention and someone to pamper him. He was seemingly lost in his own mind, the look in his eyes distant, when he wasn’t sleeping.

Ichimatsu had been shot to the leg - twice. The other bullet had only scratched his ankle but the other had went right through his calf. It would take time for him to heal completely but the shot had been clean and the doctors had reassured that once it healed, it shouldn’t affect his walking in any way. The fourth born was sitting on the couch, staring at the floor in thought, looking gloomy and miserable.

Choromatsu had a concussion and a broken rib. Even more than that, Osomatsu was worried about his mental state. He was barely talking at all, seemed to be inside his own head most of the time while often sitting curled up and staring blankly at his feet, the ground or a wall. When he was directly spoken to, he always got startled. Osomatsu knew it all was totally normal after something like they had been through but he couldn’t stop worrying. The third brother was laying on the futon as well, next to Todomatsu.

Karamatsu didn’t have any major wounds. He had a black eye and other bruises here and there but he was relatively okay. That gave him the chance to fuss over everyone else. Right now he was in the kitchen, preparing a light meal for everyone.

Jyushimatsu had bruises but no major wounds, just like Karamatsu. He had been really quiet and when asked, he had refused to tell what had happened to him, brushing it off, saying that he was fine, so it didn’t matter. Osomatsu hated that because now his mind was coming up with all these horrible ideas of what it might have been. It disgusted him. The second youngest was sitting next to Ichimatsu, doing nothing but huddling close to him for some comfort. The smile hasn’t returned to his face.

On top of everything that, all of the brothers had bruises and other minor wounds here and there and they were all acting quiet, most likely traumatized for life. It really bothered Osomatsu that he still didn’t know what had happened to some of them but he deemed it to be best not to ask too many questions. They would talk when they wanted to, even if the oldest understood, if they never did. It wasn’t like he wanted to talk about his own experience either.

Osomatsu had gotten his part of the beating as well. He had a broken nose, bruised ribs, black eyes and cuts and bruises everywhere. His face was nastily swollen and he was hurting, a lot. Right now, he looked the worst out them. He wasn’t complaining, however. I felt like he didn’t have a right to do that. He was feeling incredibly guilty and worried for the others.

He was also angry. He was furious to the people who had dared to almost take away everything Osomatsu cared about in life. They had hurt his little brothers! His precious, dear little brothers! Osomatsu was sitting on the floor of their room, watching over his brothers silently. They were in pain and damaged on so many levels. What if some of them would never recover back to how they had been before? What if Jyushimatsu would never laugh again or if Choromatsu would never nag at him again? Osomatsu felt horrible even thinking about those possibilities. He wanted to hurt the people who had dared to lay their fingers on them. He clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth.

They had called their parents from the hospital. The two of them had been worried sick when it had been late and they hadn’t heard anything from the boys. From mutual agreement they had told their parents, the hospital staff and everyone else that some gang had attacked them. It wasn’t too far off from the truth and it was believable. They hoped that The Teeth wouldn’t be interested about them anymore since hopefully they would think that they had died when the building collapsed. Hopefully they were having bigger problems to think about then the six of them, and if the monster was any indicator to that, they did. The brothers definitely didn’t want to catch their attention by telling the police and PRT about the incident. It wasn’t like it would help them in any way.

Their parents had come to the hospital as soon as they had managed. There had been so much crying and hysteria. It hurt so much and Osomatsu felt like he deserved much worse than just the beating he had received. His family was suffering because of him.

On top of that, he didn’t know how their parents would be able to pay the hospital bills. Luckily no one had been needed to be operated on, but there were six of them. They would have a debt for a long time and there was no hope of getting anyone into therapy even if they all would clearly need that. Osomatsu looked at Choromatsu’s back that was turned to him as he was laying curled on the futon. The oldest frowned troubled. It wasn’t like they had been doing so great before everything went to shit either.

They had lived in Japan happily as kids until the faithful Endbringer attack that had changed everything. Endbringers were monstrous beings that attacked humans in different locations, trying to do as much damage as they could. They were so powerful and most likely unkillable that parahumans, heroes and villains joined together to fight them off, could only at best wound them enough that they’d leave the attacked location, only to attack somewhere else later once they healed up. When they had been teenagers, one of these monsters had attacked Kyushu, wiping it out of the map completely. Millions had died and Japan never recovered from it.

The brothers had witnessed the falling of a great country as teenagers and been one of the lucky ones that had left it before the villains and other questionable groups had taken over what was left of it. After that they had lived in a strange country and culture, trying to adapt and learn, but they had always been feeling left out. Now a group of villains had almost killed them. This world hated the six of them. And it was all because of parahumans and superpowers existed! If they didn’t, there wouldn’t be Endbringers and they would still be living a peaceful life in Japan.

But no! The reality was that Osomatsu saw his broken brothers in front of him and it felt like knives in his heart. He had to do something about the guilt that was suffocating him.

The oldest stood up and Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu turned to glance at him. Even if he was in pain, he didn’t want to show it as he walked. He still had to wait for a few hours before he could take more painkillers. Osomatsu stopped in front of the two brothers on the couch. “You two okay? Do you need anything?” he asked, not daring to speak loudly in the quiet room, watching them with a worried frown.

Ichimatsu shook his head tiredly, his stare back to the floor. Jyushimatsu spoke up nearly as quiet as Osomatsu, his voice spiritless: “No, we’re as good as we can,” he said and soon averted his eyes, looking to the ground again.

Osomatsu frowned sadly. “Okay. I’ll go to a convenience store quickly. Tell Karamatsu if you need anything,” he said and turned around, taking a step forward and kneeling to the ground, close to Choromatsu and Todomatsu.

“Hey you guys,” he said quietly. Todomatsu moved slightly, not opening his eyes or turning to look at him. However, Osomatsu felt like he was awake. Choromatsu tilted his head so that he could see the oldest.

“What is it?” he asked, his voice nearly a whisper. He looked so drained, covered in bruises and heavy bags under his eyes.

Osomatsu couldn’t help the sad look creeping to his face. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. I’ll go out. Can I do anything for you?” he asked.

Choromatsu’s eyes widened slightly in alarm. “You’re going out?” he asked.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I won’t go far,” the oldest answered with an attempt of smile.

Choromatsu frowned, clearly anxious, and looked away. “Do you have to?”

Osomatsu frowned reassuringly. “Yeah, I need this.”

Choromatsu was quiet for a moment, but answered then: “Okay. Stay out of trouble,” he said.

Osomatsu smiled at him and brushed his hair lightly. “Don’t worry,” he said and then he turned to look at the youngest. Had his brothers always been this fragile-looking? “Totty? Are you awake?”

Todomatsu let out a quiet sound and curled up into a tighter ball.

Osomatsu exhaled a sad breath. “Do you need anything or...?” Totty shook his head. “Okay… Ask Karamatsu for help if you need,” he said and still got no response. He petted Totty’s hair a few times gently before he stood up, frowning anxious, and left the room.

“Karamatsu, I’m going out,” he said as he peeked his head into the kitchen.

The second oldest jumped a little and turned to face Osomatsu. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asked nervous and worried.

“I need some time alone. I feel so shitty,” Osomatsu answered, almost spitting the word, but not too loud that the brothers in the other room would hear him. “I’ll come back after a while so don’t get worried.” He started walking towards the front door.

“Osomatsu. Osomatsu.” Karamatsu came after him. “You know that they- that we need you here now. Despite of everything,” the second oldest said, meeting his eyes.

“I know. But I need a moment,” Osomatsu said and lowered his voice. “I can’t let myself break down in front of them,” he said, looking gravely to his feet, avoiding Karamatsu’s eyes.

Karamatsu looked at the oldest, feeling clearly bad for him. “Alright. But you know that we’re here for you too,” he said. “Promise you’ll be fine.”

“I’ll be fine,” Osomatsu said and started tying his shoes.

“Good. I’ll take care of them while you’re gone,” Karamatsu said. Osomatsu nodded, moving to the second shoe.

“Oh, and Osomatsu.”

The eldest looked up, indicating the other to continue.

Karamatsu’s expression was even more serious. “I know you would have never imagined that  _ that _ could have happened. You would have never wanted that.” The look in his eyes hardened. “But if you ever again endanger our family because of your stupid decisions, I’ll make you sorry.” There was no uncertainty in his voice.

Osomatsu swallowed, his mouth drying, and nodded, unable to get words out. He loathed himself so much. The guilt was killing him. He felt the familiar burning behind his eyes, but didn’t let it show. 

Karamatsu nodded too. “Be careful,” he said, turned around and walked back to the kitchen.

Osomatsu straightened his back and looked after the second oldest for a moment. Then he opened the front door and quickly picked up Jyushimatsu’s baseball bat that had been leaning on the wall next to the door.

He would make the bastards pay.

\---

The sun had started to set as the oldest walked down the streets of their neighbourhood. He had pulled up his hood and put on a surgical mask that he had taken from the hospital to hide even part of his bruised face. He was heading to the alleyways everyone knew to avoid.

Osomatsu knew that his plan was stupid. If he actually found anyone from The Teeth, the chances were that he'd get himself killed. Still he wanted to find them and fuck them up. Ideally he would run into one or two of the members, but they were not living in the ideal world. Osomatsu just needed to take out his anger on someone. He could feel the fury bubbling inside of him, just waiting for an opportunity to surface.

The building, where they had been taken, was destroyed. Osomatsu doubted the bastards would be there anymore because heroes must have went to check the place out. On top of that, as much as Osomatsu wanted to get his revenge, he didn't want to go there. He hoped he would find someone from the nearby area.

The streets and alleyways were getting shadier and darker. “ _ Good, _ ” Osomatsu thought, completely lacking the common sense and survival instinct. He was driven by his guilt and hatred, both of himself and The Teeth. There was nothing he could do to help his poor brothers as they were slowly, hopefully, going through the recovering process. But if he could make the people, who had hurt them, suffer, at least he would feel a little better. Everything had went to shit so badly that violence or distancing himself were the only coping mechanisms Osomatsu knew, and right now he couldn't lapse into his own mind, too. He had to be there for his brothers, no matter how shitty brother he was. But he needed someone to punch and take out his anger and frustration on.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Osomatsu lifted his head up from the ground and saw three young men around twenty meters ahead of him, smoking cigarettes. Gang members definitely. Osomatsu didn’t know which gang they were from so it was most likely some smaller one.

He took a few more steps closer and then stopped, letting the bat hang from his hand non threateningly. “No one. Have you happened to see members of The Teeth anywhere today?” he asked. A voice in his mind was nagging at him that he was unbelievably stupid and he should back away and go home while he still could. If he still could.

The men threw away their cigarettes and started walking closer. “Are you stupid or what, thinking that you can come here and ask us questions?”

Osomatsu shrugged. “If you answer me, then it would be worth it, right?”

“Listen, you little shit,” one of them said. There weren't many meters left between them anymore. “We've had a really shitty day and we hate it when someone thinks they can pass through our core area. So, sorry, but we're gonna have to beat you to a pulp,” he said indifferently. The two others smirked and started walking closer to Osomatsu, clenching their fists.

Osomatsu's eyes widened in alarm and he swallowed, his panic rising, as he backed away slowly. He was so fucked. Why did he have to be so stupid?! Who in their right mind would go start fights with gang members or villains?! He should die just because of natural selection and the fact that he clearly was too stupid to live! God, he hated himself!

“H-hey. We don't have to fight. I warn you that you'll be in trouble if you attack me,” the oldest said, his black eyes as wide with fear as he could open them.

The men laughed. “You already look like shit. You were in a fight, what, one or two days ago and got beaten up. Well, the result from this won’t be any better for you.”

“ _ Shit shit shit!! _ ” Osomatsu panicked in his mind. He was discreetly glancing around to spot some way out while keeping his eyes on the men. “J-just let me go and I won’t bother you. That- that would be best for all of us,” he said, his voice shaking.

“No, actually I’m really glad you came here,” one of the men said. “We get to let off some steam.” He snapped his fingers and the two other dashed to Osomatsu.

The distance between them was only a few meters and during the short moment before the first blow hit him, Osomatsu only lowered his head and shielded it with his arms. He felt like shit. How could he be so incredibly stupid?! He had brought this upon himself on his own, but why did he have to do it right when his brothers would need him the most? On a second thought their lives would most likely be much better without him. He deserved this but still felt horrible because he knew that his brothers and parents would be sad when he never returned to home again.

“ _ It’s all my fault.” _

Kicks hit his stomach and punches hit the side of his face. Osomatsu opened his eyes, which he hadn’t realized he had closed, in surprise and confusion. There was no pain. Well not any new pain. He lifted his head up and realized how the two men were holding their hands and cursing.

“ _ What? _ ”

The third man stepped to the front. “You’re supposed to scream!” He took his arm back and punched Osomatsu hard to the face. After his fist collided with Osomatsu, he let out a cry, a mix of anger and pain, and he took a step back, shaking his hand. “The fuck?!” he shouted.

“ _ What? _ ” Osomatsu thought in a growing confusion. He had felt the touch but all the power it had had seemed to vanish somewhere as it hit him. There was no pain, not enough strength to do anything. It was like someone had tapped his cheek friendly. And he hadn’t moved an inch. What was going on?

One of the men roared and kicked Osomatsu to the stomach violently. Osomatsu didn’t fold over or stagger even if he jumped, a little scared, expecting the blow to hurt. When no pain came and he didn’t stumble, he just stared at the leg that kicked his stomach again.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Osomatsu blinked a few times and then he grabbed a hold of the man’s leg, pulling him slightly closer. He punched the man to the chin, feeling how it broke, and shiftly he moved that hand on the man’s leg as well and snapped his leg like a twig.

The man screamed in pain. Osomatsu stared at the wound that he had inflicted without realizing it. The sharp ends of the bone were sticking out from the flesh. Everything was becoming bloody. Overwhelmed and scared Osomatsu let go of him and the man dropped to the ground, howling in pain.

“ _ I-I did that? _ ”

Another angry roar sounded and a knife was swinged at Osomatsu. “You fucker!!”

Osomatsu dodged the first swing but the second one was coming straight for his chest. In panic he raised his hands up to take the hit instead of his more vulnerable area and the knife stopped at his hand like it was steel. Osomatsu’s heart was beating in panic and his eyes widened in shock as he looked at the knife that the man was still trying to push into his flesh. It hadn’t made a scratch on him.

Frowning, Osomatsu clenched his hand closed and he felt how the blade bent in his grip. He jerked the knife away from the man easily and opened his fist, seeing how the item could be hardly recognized as a knife anymore. A disbelieving, thunderstruck smile took over his face. He looked to the scared looking man in front of himself, reached his hand towards him and dropped the knife to the ground with a clank. The man took a sharp breath and stared at Osomatsu, scared.

A dark grin had appeared on Osomatsu’s face as he grabbed a hold of the man’s hair and tossed him aside. He flew at least four meters before crashing onto a side of a dumpster. A weird sound escaped Osomatsu’s lips as he watched it. He had done it so effortlessly.

_ Bang _

A loud gunshot pierced the air and Osomatsu could feel sudden pain, radiating from his chest. His heart skipped a beat as he looked down at his chest and saw a hole in his hoodie. With shaking fingers he inspected it, fear flooding over him, but then he saw that his skin was undamaged. In confusion he looked up to the last man standing, his gun pointed to Osomatsu, before he looked down to the ground. Osomatsu frowned and picked up a bullet from the ground. It was flattened.

The eldest looked again at the man and a chuckle escaped his mouth. The man’s hand was shaking as he held the gun between them as a protection. Osomatsu started walking closer to him and the man fired again.

Osomatsu closed his eyes instinctively and jumped startled. He felt how the bullet collided with his forehead before it dropped to the ground. It wasn’t painful but it stung. Like someone had flicked him. As soon as he was sure that he hadn’t died this time either, he stepped forward and grabbed the man’s gun, wrenching it away from him and throwing it aside. A dark, manic grin on his face he said:

“Didn’t I warn you?”

\---

A moment later Osomatsu was sitting on top of that man’s chest. His bloodied hands were hanging on his sides as he looked up to the dark sky, heaving in deep breaths. He was chuckling quietly, a weird smile on his face and his eyes were wet for whatever reason.

He couldn’t believe it.

He lowered his gaze to the man’s face that was now a bloodied mess. He hadn’t been able to do anything to stop Osomatsu. It had been so easy to hurt him, to hurt them. He chuckled again, sounding really unstable, even to himself. He lifted up his bloodied, fisted hand, looking at it.

He had powers! He didn’t know how or why, but he had them. He had turned into a parahuman. He couldn’t believe it! He had superpowers!

Standing up, he took a few steps closer to the wall of the building and punched it for a test. A big hole appeared on the concrete as it creaked and broke, the hole widening as more of it crumbled to the ground.

Osomatsu let out a laugh. Just how strong was he?! He was a parahuman! There was so much he could do!

Maybe things wouldn’t turn out to be so bad in the end. He had been given powers. He could use them to get revenge on the assholes who hurt his family. He could keep them safe now, he had been granted the power to do that. He could do whatever he liked. Who would be able to stop him?!

Osomatsu looked around at the men lying unconscious on the ground. He picked up Jyushimatsu’s bat and decided he should get back to home before the others would get too worried. He should also probably call an ambulance from a payphone on his way home - and wash away the blood from his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> Osomatsu is such an idiot but yeah, he just realized he has powers. I hope I managed to write down that scene even half as cool as I saw it in my head. 
> 
> Oh yeah and the brothers are broken now! Yay!
> 
> Next chapter will be Karamatsu pov.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karamatsu knows that he has to become a superhero. It's the right thing to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had kind of decided that I wouldn't update today, but I would just feel bad if I didn't. So here's an update for you!!
> 
> School sucks.
> 
> Betaread by Rustfeather!
> 
> Enjoy! It's Kara time!

Karamatsu was walking at the heart of the city, in the area where most of the important and fancy office buildings were located. He was really nervous, biting his lip and fidgeting with his fingers. He was unsure about everything, feeling lost, scared and alone. On top of that he couldn’t shake the doubt that maybe he was making a big mistake.

It had been two days since the horrible, horrible event. Karamatsu’s black eye was looking really nasty and he had other bruises here and there, which were aching, but none of that really mattered to him.

Physical bruises he could bare without a problem. It was the pain, concern and sadness he felt for his brothers that felt like daggers to his heart.

He could start crying every time he thought about what had happened and the torment his brothers had faced. Every quiet moment he could hear his brothers’ screams and feel that horrible feeling of despair. He had been sure that they’d all die. Every time he saw the others’ bruised faces, he felt like he should have been able to do more for them and he felt guilty of how little he had physically suffered compared to them.

He couldn’t help but to blame himself. Although, he blamed Osomatsu more. However, the oldest was obviously devastated and giving himself hard enough time already, so Karamatsu didn’t have the heart to be too angry at him. They had all survived in the end, even if just barely.

Karamatsu still didn’t understand everything that had happened. When the parahuman woman, that he had later found out to be called Hemorrhagia, had been beating Osomatsu so violently, Todomatsu had been laying on the ground being tortured, and the rest of their brothers had been god knows where, Karamatsu had been screaming and crying when suddenly he had passed out for a few seconds. As soon as he had regained his consciousness, he had continued his screaming and nothing had been the same as before.

He had felt his voice differently. In fact he felt all the voices in a new way, but he had realized that only later. In his panic and desperation he hadn’t understood how it had happened, but somehow he had changed his own scream, intensifying it or something, and suddenly the whole building had been rumbling and about to collapse. He couldn’t understand it, but he knew that it had been because of him. All the sounds around him felt strange, he heard them differently and he was sure that he had just gotten superpowers. He got that confirmed when one of the members of The Teeth had whipped him around, trying to stop him from screaming so much, and he had reacted by yelling at him to stop and let him go. Whatever he had done to his voice to strengthen it had knocked the man unconscious. Karamatsu had used his voice as a weapon.

It was scary.

He had turned into a parahuman. Somehow he had gotten powers. It had scared him badly and he had barely had any chances to try his power out as he had spent all of his time with his poor brothers. But he had tested it enough to be one hundred percent certain that he had a power to take sounds and use them as a weapon. Not only as a weapon, but he could also just turn up the volume of them as well and direct them. It was so confusing and he didn’t understand it at all yet. But he could use sounds, that was certain. To what extent, he didn’t know.

The sound manipulation wasn’t even the only unnatural thing in him. Later as they had been in the hospital and Karamatsu had tried out his sound powers in a dim bathroom, he had realized that his skin was glowing a little. It was unsettling, but luckily it seemed to be most of the time so unnoticeable that it would be assumed to be the normal way his white skin reflected the light. The glowing was involuntary, but when concentrating on it, he could strengthen or weaken it a little. But at the best it seemed to be rather dim. It was weird, but luckily it hadn’t turned out to be a problem.

Karamatsu looked up and a cold feeling settled on the bottom of his stomach. He could already see the PRT building. He felt so lost with these new powers and he knew that he would get help from there. He needed some guidance, someone to tell him that everything would be alright. The people there might even be able to help him protect his brothers. It was the only place he could go, really.

Another reason why Karamatsu was going there was his wish to become a superhero. Of course he just like everybody else had thought of what he would do if he got powers one day. He had always known that he would need to use them for good. His purpose in life was to bring something good to this world. So far he hadn’t succeeded. But since he had powers now, it was his duty to use them to help others and prevent things like what had happened to him and his brothers from happening again to someone else.

He needed someone to clear things out for him and help him. In return he could help them. Everyone would benefit from it.

Karamatsu stopped at a traffic lights and took a deep breath. Only a little left before he would be standing in front of the PRT building. He felt incredibly nervous. What would the people there say to him? What if they would turn him away, saying that they didn’t want him? How could he know if they were picky? Karamatsu thought himself as a good person, but so many people seemed to find him annoying or painful. Or maybe they wouldn’t like his powers. Karamatsu didn’t know how good they were since he had just gotten them and barely used them. But he  _ had _ made a building collapse, so his powers couldn’t be entirely useless, right?

The light turned green and he continued his walking. He felt so nervous. All his doubts and reassurances were whirling in his head and the distance disappeared way too quickly. Restlessly Karamatsu slowed his walking into a stop and looked up at the sign saying “Parahuman Response Team” as he fidgeted with his fingers worriedly. A lot of people were passing the building by in the busy street, someone occasionally going inside there, but likely none of them paid any attention on him just standing there, frozen.

“ _ Nope. Not ready! _ ” he thought and continued walking. Shouldn’t he think this through more before he went and revealed himself for the organization?

Karamatsu fisted his hands. “ _ The more you chicken out, the longer it will take before you can return home to your brothers. You’re doing this to protect them and everyone else. Of course you should become a superhero! So shut up and do what’s right!  _ ”

Biting his lip, he turned around and walked back to the entrance. He felt nauseous and his mouth was dry but, drawing his eyebrows together, he stepped forward and the big sliding doors opened for him. Taking another deep breath, he entered the building. He believed in his decision.

Superheroes were celebrities. They were crucial to maintain peace and order, fighting against villains, and many people looked up to them and admired them. They had fans and thus lines of products and merchandise that were sold. That’s why PRT building was also a popular tourist attraction. The first hallway was big and had pictures on the walls as well as some other items on display. Two fully equipped PRT officers were also standing there. They were wearing all black, protective vests and helmets were covering their faces. Karamatsu knew they were mostly on the display for the visitors and probably didn’t have real guns, but it didn’t make him feel any safer even if it probably should have. He saw that they had what as far as he knew were containment foam guns. It was PRT’s commonly used non-lethal way to stop parahumans. The foam was spread as liquid on people which then expanded and turned into foam, making movement basically impossible. Karamatsu eyed the foam guns warily, but trying to keep his wariness from showing on his face. If they knew that he was a parahuman, would they spray him?

Swallowing, he walked further inside. He had been there once or twice with his brothers and even if the place was the same, though the exhibitions had changed, everything was different now. There was none of that excitement or joy in him that he had felt when visiting there before. He wasn’t there for fun.

On the other side of the hallway was a gift shop full of superhero merchandise. Next to it was a doorway, leading to the exhibition area. Everything there, as well as in the gift shop, was focused on the local heroes and Wards, who were minors working as heroes, even if there were of course merch of all the most popular heroes across the country.

Doorway on the other side of the hallway led into another hallway which was for business. Mostly services that PRT provided for normal people were counselling and things similar to that. Karamatsu forced himself to walk to the other hallway, where the counters were. He kept his head hanging low, wishing that his bangs would be longer and hide his black eye.

The next hallway was big and spacious. There were a few counters with people working behind them, talking to customers. On the wall next to Karamatsu were many elevators and on the other side of the lobby were a few couches and armchairs with a table full of magazines. It was the waiting area. Everything was clean and the decoration simple but expensive looking with the calm colours, potted plants and roomy feeling. Suddenly Karamatsu felt like he didn’t belong there. He felt really self-conscious with his battered face and his hoodie, feeling like he should have used some of his more fashionable clothes. He was supposed to make a good impression and be taken seriously.

Looking around lost for a moment, he spotted a queueing number machine. He walked to it and looked at its screen. There were a couple of options for him: “Sightings”, “Counseling”, “Business appointment” and “Other”. Karamatsu pressed the “Other” and got a piece of paper with number 402 printed on it. Nervously he walked to the waiting area and sat down to wait with a few other people.

Karamatsu fumbled with the paper, trying hard to think of something else to calm himself down, but there was nothing he could think of. It was either his new powers or his brothers suffering that was plaguing his mind. He picked up a magazine only to put it back after a moment, unable to focus enough to read anything. It was scary, the idea of him telling anyone about him being no longer an ordinary human.

A ding startled him and he looked at the screen displaying the numbers called. A woman from another couch stood up and walked to a counter, sitting on a chair in front of it. Karamatsu tried to relax. It wasn’t his turn. He had to wait more which was totally fine. If it would take too much time, he’d probably have to go and return to his brothers. That didn’t sound so bad.

Some time passed and every time he heard the ding, his heart skipped a beat anxiously. Some more people had joined him on the couches while others had left. It wasn’t too busy, but people were coming and going on a steady pace.

Karamatsu looked at his number. Nervous chills went down his spine. It would be all alright, he tried to reassure himself. They’d know what to do and help him. He glanced at the queueing number machine. Should he have taken the counselling number? No, no. This was better. This was more unusual. It must have been, there weren’t that many parahumans, right?

What would he even say to them? How was he supposed to tell that he had powers and he wanted to become a hero? Just spill it out like that? Great, now he had another thing to worry about.

Another ding sounded and Karamatsu glanced quickly up at the screen. It was 402.

His stomach turned uncomfortably and his breathing got slightly faster while his heart was racing. “ _ This is it. You can do it! _ ” he encouraged himself and stood up. He walked towards the counter which had his number blinking on top of it. He swallowed uneasily and glanced towards the doorway. Should he just escape while it wasn’t too late yet? It was all too nerve wracking.

Despite everything, he forced himself to walk to the counter. A middle aged woman was looking at him first with a frown as she noted his black eye, but then she changed her expression into a polite smile. Karamatsu stopped walking and stood in front of her at the other side of the counter, his mind running overdrive, but still no clever words came to his mouth. His uneasiness must have been clear from his face.

The woman smiled at him kindly. “Hello, how can I help you? Please take a seat,” she said.

Karamatsu blinked his eyes a few times and looked at the chair in front of him before sitting down, tense. He was looking at his hands which were playing with the hem of his hoodie nervously. He had gotten the power of sounds and he was unable to force words out of his mouth? That was not a good first impression. He swallowed uneasily.

“I… uhh… I don’t really know…” he muttered, not daring to meet the lady’s eyes.

“Sir, I assure you that we’re here to help you,” the woman said reassuringly. “Is this about some villain group causing you trouble?”

Karamatsu frowned slightly. “N-no…” he said. Although actually it was partly that, but that wasn’t his main point. “I- ummm…” He looked around nervously. The counter had walls separating it from the other counters, but people could easily hear him if he talked too loudly.

“Sir, it is safe for you to talk here.”

Karamatsu wetted his lips nervously and stood up. “I-I’m sorry! I’m just wasting your valuable time here. I think I’m gonna go,” he said, stuttering, and turned around, starting to walk away. He walked towards the doorway and soon heard a new bing behind him.

He hadn’t taken many steps before he balled his fists and clenched his teeth together hard. “ _ You got all the way here while you could have been there for your brothers, so you better use that time well! _ ” Karamatsu rubbed his face with his hands. “ _ Fuck! _ ”

Suddenly he swung around and strode back to the counter. A man was walking towards it, but Karamatsu cut in between him and the counter. “Mister, excuse me, I forgot something. Could I please quickly talk to her before you?” he asked from the man.

The man looked surprised but nodded. The look on Karamatsu’s face must have been urgent. “Yes sure. Go ahead,” he said still a bit surprised and turned back towards the couches.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Karamatsu said and walked closer to the counter where the lady was looking at him surprised as well. Karamatsu leaned to the table with his hands, looking down nervously as he prepared himself.

“Sir, I’d really like to help you, but I can’t if you don’t tell me what is it,” the woman said, studying his face with a little worry.

Karamatsu lifted up one of his hands and rubbed his face with it. “Yes. Yes of course. I’m sorry. I’m just really, really nervous, I- uhhh… I… I-” he said, glancing at the lady in front of himself. She was staring at him, eyes wide with confusion and curiosity.

Karamatsu bit his lip and glanced over his shoulder nervously. “I-I guess I sort of want help and- and guidance,” he stuttered.

“Of course, we can do that,” the lady said. “Now if you just tell me what is it for?”

“I, uhh,” he swallowed uneasily before he turned to meet her eyes timidly. “I just uhh… got powers.” He finally managed to say it. “I’m a new p-parahuman,” he continued quietly.

The woman’s eyes widened in surprise, her mouth opening slightly. “Are you serious?” she asked with a hushed voice.

Karamatsu nodded, averting his eyes. “I- I’d like to join the protectorate,” he answered quietly. Protectorate was a superhero organization, working under PRT. That’s where most of the heroes worked in the US. It was what Karamatsu wanted to be a part of.

Suddenly the woman paled a little and she looked around hastily. “Sir, please don’t say anything more now,” she said and stood up from her chair. Karamatsu straightened his back, his heart beating fast. The woman leaned to peek at her colleague’s side behind the wall. “Jane, I have a situation. I have to go now,” she said quietly, but a little too quickly. Then she turned to look back at Karamatsu. “Wait a second. I’ll guide you to another room,” she said and disappeared only to walk next to Karamatsu after a couple of seconds. “Please, follow me,” she said.

Karamatsu glanced to the windows opening to the street anxiously and then to the lady. She understood and tried to give him a reassuring smile. “You don’t have to say yes to anything. I can’t force you to come, but please, you could talk to some of our heroes, to someone who understands how you’re feeling,” she said, speaking so quietly that no one should have been able to hear her. “Please sir, it’s also for your safety.”

Karamatsu closed his eyes and nodded a few times. “Yes, of course. That’s why I came here,” he said.

“Good. Please, follow me then,” the lady said and started walking toward the back wall, casting a glance at Karamatsu every other second. She opened a door and stepped aside to let him go inside first. Karamatsu did so.

The room looked like a small meeting room, but from the amount of stuff in there and the mess, Karamatsu thought it wasn’t used in anything official. He looked around nervously, having no clue if he should say or do something.

“Please, sit down wherever you want,” the lady said still a little bewildered, but taking Karamatsu seriously. “I need to call some people,” she continued, taking a cell phone out of her pocket.

“Is- is this going to take long?” Karamatsu asked, frowning.

The woman blinked surprised. “Are you in a hurry?” she asked.

“Not exactly, but I shouldn’t be away from my family for too long,” he answered.

“I see. This doesn’t have to take long, it’s all up to you. And you’re free to leave anytime. Please excuse me now,” she said, took a few steps away and turned sideways from Karamatsu.

Karamatsu looked around. He didn’t feel like sitting down so he stayed standing. He was feeling really restless since he had no idea what would happen now.

The woman started talking. “Hello? This is Helene from the front desk. Yes, umm, here’s a situation. Ah, no, no! Nothing is wrong. A young man came, saying that he has gotten powers and wanted to join. No, I don’t know. I took him to the backroom behind the counters. Yes. Yes, thank you. I’ll keep you informed. Okay, thank you,” she finished the call, turning off her phone.

She turned to look at Karamatsu, who was staring back at her. “They’re sending few people for security here, then we can start. Please, don’t be worried and try to make yourself comfortable,” she said and sat down on a chair, showing example to Karamatsu.

Karamatsu wetted his lips and sat down a few chairs away from her, nervously. He stared at the table, his mind racing and anticipating of what was to come.

“You look really pale, are you okay?” the lady asked and stood up.

“Yeah… Just nervous,” Karamatsu answered, staring at the surface of the table.

The woman set a glass of water on the table in front of Karamatsu, who looked up to meet her eyes. “Don’t worry. I’m just going to ask you a few questions for now and ask you to show me your powers so that we know that you’re a real deal. But you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Once I’ve confirmed that you actually are a parahuman, someone in a much higher position will continue talking with you and I’m sure you could meet some of our heroes too. I’m certain you’ll feel better when you get to talk to someone about this,” she said friendly and sat down on her seat again.

Karamatsu took a sip from his water. “Yes, I believe I would,” he answered and really hoped that would be the case. He was staring at the table, gripping his legs nervously. 

“Alright, so the people from security will arrive shortly. Now, would you tell me what your powers are?” she asked carefully but professional.

Karamatsu bit his lip. “I’m sorry, but I need to ask about a few things before I can tell you anything,” he said. He had to be sure that his family would be safe.

The woman nodded. “Of course. Do you-” she dropped whatever she had been about to ask when the door opened.

Karamatsu turned to look there and saw how two PRT officers stepped in. He wondered briefly if the two were the same he had seen in the hallway. Karamatsu tensed up nervously. He couldn’t help the feeling of being cornered to slowly rise into his mind.

One of the men spoke up, his voice slightly muffled behind his helmet. “Don’t worry, we’re just a precaution. We’re here to protect you as much as to protect people from you,” he said. “We make sure that no one gets hurt as you show us your powers.”

Karamatsu swallowed and nodded timidly. They were carrying containment foam guns in their hands as well as other weapons on their belts. He felt really restless, but assured to himself that he wouldn’t be in trouble as he hadn’t done anything wrong.

The lady started speaking again, gaining back Karamatsu’s attention. “So, what was it you wanted to ask me sir?” she asked.

Karamatsu wetted his lips nervously. “I- I just need to know that this won’t cause any trouble to my family. I need to know that they’ll be safe,” he said.

The woman smiled at him. “I see. I can assure you that we want them to be safe as much as you do. Your secret identity will be highly protected, but of course there’s always risks. However, if you join us, we’ll be there to help and support you, while if you stay alone, you can still get into trouble with villains or rogues. Joining us is your safest option if you want to work in the public,” she said.

Karamatsu nodded. “And my family won’t find out about me being a parahuman either?” he asked. For their safety, he couldn’t let them know.

The woman studied his face. Karamatsu felt ten times as uncomfortable as he normally would because his face was bruised. “I can tell that you’re legally adult, correct me if I’m wrong, so no, they wouldn’t be told anything. We can also do arrangements to help you to keep it a secret if you so want” she said.

“You promise me that they won’t know about this and that they will be safe?” Karamatsu asked, meeting the lady’s eyes with firm look. He wanted to be absolutely sure.

“I promise,” the lady said.

“Good,” Karamatsu said and fall into silence, averting his eyes and staring at the table again.

“So, if that’s all you want to ask for now, could you tell me about your powers?” she asked friendly.

Karamatsu bit his lip and nodded once. “I… I can manipulate sounds,” he said, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

“In what way?”

Karamatsu swallowed. “I’m not entirely sure.” At least he wasn’t sure how to explain what he could sense. “I can make them louder and I can alter them slightly. I can aim them, use them as a weapon and do damage,” he said, his eyebrows knit together.

“That sounds great,” the lady said. “Very useful I believe. Can you show it to me without doing any damage?” she asked.

“Uhh… yes, I can,” he answered. He was nowhere near confident using his powers, but he had been trying them at home when his brothers had been in a different room. Nothing bad had happened so he was pretty sure he could show them without any risk of doing damage. At least he hoped so.

“Great. Whenever you’re ready.”

Karamatsu took a deep breath and let the sounds fill his mind. He could hear his own heart pounding as well as a clock on the wall ticking. Occasionally either one of the officers shifted their position, making a small shuffling noise. Behind the door he could hear some talking, steps echoing in the hallway and the distant noise of the traffic and the city from the outside. He could feel even the weakest of the soundwaves in the air, spreading everywhere.

“I can pick any sound I want that I can hear,” Karamatsu explained and strengthened his own voice. He spoke normally, but it sounded like his voice was coming from a loudspeaker without any of the static noise electronic devices would make. “I can manipulate them in many ways,” he continued, no more focusing on his voice so that it sounded normal again. Instead, he started knocking the table lightly with his finger, intensifying the sound. “I can target it and choose the area it affects, at least somewhat,” he said and made the sound of his knocking went quieter and back stronger, then quieter and back stronger again. Then he targeted it to the officers so that they heard it much louder than the lady even if there were only a few meters between them. “If I turn up the volume even more, I can do even damage,” he said, picked up the ticking of the clock and targeted it to the glass of water in front of him. It started to shake with the powerful waves of sound hitting against it. He used more of his power and the glass moved to the other edge of the table only from the force of sound. Karamatsu looked up to meet the woman’s wide, fascinated eyes. “I could break it,” he stated.

She looked at him mouth slightly open. “This- this is great! It’s not often we really meet someone new and friendly with powers. Everyone we meet is always a fake, but you- And yours look so useful,” she said, excited. “Do you know how powerful your power is? Could it be used in a combat?”

Karamatsu frowned. He had destroyed a big building made from concrete. “It can be pretty strong. At least to structures. I don’t know how much damage my power can do to people, but I did knock out a person,” he said. “I can make voices just loud, like a speaker, or I can change them so that they will hit with a more concrete force. I think.”

“I see, I see,” the woman said, unable to hide her excited smile. “My part is over now, I have confirmed your powers. I need to let my superiors know about you right away and I’m sure they’ll want to meet you as soon as possible.”

An unsure smile crept on Karamatsu’s face. He had passed the first test. These people were taking him seriously. He was still extremely nervous, but not that scared anymore. Somewhere deep inside of him, he could feel excitement starting to bubble. Then his eyes widened. “Oh! I, uh, I actually glow as well,” he said, scratching the back of his neck, suddenly a little embarrassed.

“Really?” the lady asked, eyes widening in surprise and she studied Karamatsu’s skin. “I can’t see it,” she said with a slight frown.

“Ah, it’s really dim and it’s bright here so,” Karamatsu said, feeling how his cheeks heated up a little.

The lady looked at the officers. “Could you-?” The lights were switched off.

Karamatsu looked at his hands, but the glow was barely noticeable. He frowned, focusing on it. He managed to get it a hint brighter.

“I think I can see it,” the woman said. “Does it do anything?”

“Not that I know of,” Karamatsu answered. “It’s just a glow.”

“You can turn the lights back on,” she said and Karamatsu blinked his eyes as the room was lit up again. “Good, thank you,” the lady said to Karamatsu, smiling. “That’s all, right?”

Karamatsu nodded. “Yes.”

The woman nodded as well, stood up and took out her phone. “I’m sorry, I’ll make a quick call,” she said. Karamatsu nodded. She offered him a smile and pressed the phone against her ear, walking a few steps away and turning to look to a pile of papers as she waited.

“That was cool!”

Karamatsu turned to look at the two PRT officers and saw how they took away their helmets, revealing their faces. They were both male and one of them was around thirty years old, while the other one was slightly older. They were both smiling controlled but excited.

“Umm, thanks,” Karamatsu said. The woman started to speak on the phone.

“If it’s powerful enough to knock people out or move items, I’m sure it will be useful,” the older man said.

“You think so?” Karamatsu asked. Those words really meant a lot to him. He could be useful. He might be able to do some good.

“Of course!” the younger man said. “There’s always need for more heroes and your powers don’t seem to be half bad.”

“I don’t know if they’re that strong, but I can do something with them,” Karamatsu said, more excited.

“It would be great if you joined,” the younger man said. He was about to continue when the lady stepped next to him and started talking.

“Yes, but there’s no pressure,” she said and cast a meaningful look to the officers, who averted their eyes. She looked back at Karamatsu, smiling. “I told my superiors about you and the higher ups are being informed right now. They will continue with you as soon as they can.”

“So, uhh, do you know how long this will take? Sorry about asking it again but I shouldn’t stay away from home for too long. They need me,” Karamatsu repeated his worry.

The lady nodded understandingly. “Of course, yes. You being here is really important and it will be pretty much top priority if nothing major with villains is going on. I’m sure someone will be ready to see you in a few minutes. Of course we can make your appointment later as well, but we’d appreciate it if you gave us a little more of your time, so that some of the more relevant people could meet you,” she said. “You said that you’re interested in joining, right?”

Karamatsu nodded. “Yes, I am. I’m not in a hurry yet and I’d like to talk some more about my situation and other things,” he said.

“Great. Do you have anything you’d like to ask? They’ll explain you everything, but if something is concerning you, I may be able to help.”

“Ummm…” Karamatsu thought about it. There were so many things he didn’t know about and things he was confused and unsure about that he had no idea where to start. “I don’t really know. There’s so much I’ll need to know,” he said.

The woman smiled at him kindly. “I understand. Joining the protectorate would be a big change. Just think things through with time and I’m sure they’ll help you the best they can with whatever is concerning you.”

“Thank you,” Karamatsu said. By now he really felt good about coming to talk to these people. He could actually have someone to talk to since he had to keep everything in secret at home.

There was a soft knock on the door and then it opened. Everybody turned to look and saw how a new man stepped in. He was black, slim and well dressed, probably in his 40s. He had a high forehead, furrowed brows and surprisingly sharp jaw. All this made it look like he was glaring perpetually if it wasn’t for the friendly smile on his face. His eyes found Karamatsu immediately and his smile widened, seemingly not paying any attention on his black eye which Karamatsu appreciated. Karamatsu felt intimidated by this man, who surely was someone important and was still giving his time and attention to someone like him.

“Hello!” the man greeted as he walked straight to Karamatsu, stopping in front of him and offering his hand for him to shake. “I’m Kalim Armstrong, the director of PRT Boston. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” he said friendly.

Karamatsu took his hand and shook it as he stood up from his chair. Formalities. They made him feel better. It was normal and safe. “The pleasure is mine,” he said and forced a smile on his face even if he was really nervous. “I was assured that this wouldn’t put my family at risk?” he couldn’t help but making sure again with the new man. He felt nervous and uncomfortable about talking to someone important like that without even introducing himself first.

“Yes, of course,” Armstrong said, smiling. “We won’t interfere into your personal life unless you want us to. Having powers will always separate you from the mass and if you use your powers in public, there will always be some risks, but we won’t cause any of those to your family. If anything, we can help to keep them safe,” he said. “Your family will be left out of this and no trouble will come to them from us.”

Karamatsu nodded. He wanted to trust these people. He wanted to have someone to help him with his new parahuman life. And these people had been nice to him. “Alright. My name-”

Armstrong lifted up his palms, stopping Karamatsu. “Please. For your own safety it’s best if you introduce yourself once we get to another room. The less people know your identity, the better,” he said, smiling. “Also you should know that you can choose yourself who you want to show your face or tell your name. You can keep it all a secret if you want to, even if that might be inconvenient.”

Karamatsu closed his mouth. That was true. He should probably be more careful.

The man smiled at him. “Is it alright if we move elsewhere? I’d like to get to know you and tell you about the Protectorate and working in it,” he said.

Karamatsu nodded. “Sure.”

“Good,” Armstrong said. He opened a small suitcase that he was holding and took out a simple black mask that he offered to Karamatsu. “I recommend using it,” he said.

Karamatsu took the mask. It was shaped to fit a face well and stay in a place with a strap behind the head. It would cover everything from forehead to right above upper lip, eyes being covered with black lenses. Of course using a mask was the clever thing to do. He was now a parahuman and if he wasn’t careful, someone might find out about his powers and try to harm him or his family. Still, actually putting on a mask felt like such a big thing. It was like admitting on a whole different level that he was a cape now, not a normal human.

He put on the mask and noted how well it fit his face and how easily he could still see through the lenses. Something about wearing a mask was scary, but much bigger part of him was excited. He might be on his way of becoming a hero!

Armstrong smiled at him. “I don’t think black is really your color. If you decide to join, you can design a costume together with our people. This will have to do for now, while you’re staying here and meeting people, for your own safety. Well, shall we go then?” he asked.

Karamatsu couldn’t help a smile creeping on his face. The excitement was tingling on his skin and he could have sworn that he glowed a little brighter. He could design a costume?! That would be amazing! He had already so many ideas! He would look fabulous in his costume, fighting against crime as a superhero. Maybe him getting powers would turn out to be a good thing after all.

“Yes, I’m ready,” Karamatsu said, nodding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> Yeah, Kara was the one who accidentally made the building collapse. That's pretty impressive.
> 
> Of course Karamatsu will become a superhero! There'll be a few more chapters of him next. Just imagine the horror when Kara gets to design his costume and choose his hero name.
> 
> PRT (Parahuman Response Team)= Paramilitary organization, trained to deal with parahumans and whatever follows their actions.  
Protectorate= Government sponsored superhero organization that works under PRT.
> 
> I'm not sure about the next update, but as soon as possible.
> 
> See you!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karamatsu has a discussion with people from the Protectorate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!
> 
> How are you doing? I hope good! I'm a bit tired because I haven't slept enough, but weekend was nice (I got to write xD). Here's just snowing and snowing some more...
> 
> The movie!!! IT WAS AMAZING!!! I couldn't have asked anything more! It didn't disappoint <3 Like omg!! If you haven't watched it yet, you should.
> 
> Okay, anyways, enjoy this chapter! I'm sorry that not much will happen in the next few chapters but it's important we follow how Kara gets familiar with the Protectorate and we get to know it as well.

Karamatsu was led out of the room through a different door. The new mask on his face, he followed director Armstrong through a corridor into an elevator. They were now alone just the two of them as they made their way to wherever Karamatsu was being taken.

As they were standing in the elevator, Armstrong turned around to look at Karamatsu, whose face was now mostly covered by the mask. “Nervous?” he asked, his smile revealing some of his teeth.

Karamatsu nodded. “A little. But not as much as before.”

“That’s good. You shouldn’t be,” the man said reassuringly.

“I’m actually getting more excited,” Karamatsu said.

“You are?” Armstrong smiled at him. “Great. Next we’re just going to have a conversation about your situation and possibilities and we’ll tell you what it would mean for you to join the Protectorate. We’ll be joined by Bastion shortly,” he said.

Karamatsu’s eyes widened, although it of course couldn’t be seen from behind his mask. “B-Bastion?! Seriously?” he asked in disbelief. How could someone that important and cool like Bastion actually come talk to him, a foolish, useless NEET, and maybe even recruit him?! Bastion was the leader of the Protectorate heroes of Boston. He was heroic and brave and Karamatsu admired him a lot.

Armstrong looked at him, clearly amused by his excited reaction. The elevator doors opened and he stepped out, Karamatsu following after him “Well, sure. He was available and it’s always best if a possible new member can talk with a fellow parahuman.”

Karamatsu was following after him. He felt the excitement bubble in his chest and for a moment he had forgotten the pain and worry that he was carrying inside of him. “I’m looking forward to meeting him,” he said.

As they walked down a corridor, a couple of people passed them by. The looks Karamatsu got were really curious. He didn’t know how he felt about that. He certainly wasn’t being ignored anymore, not at least when he was wearing this mask.

Armstrong stopped and opened a door with his keycard, stepping aside while holding the door open for the other. “Please, step inside,” he said politely, motioning him to go to the room with his hand. Karamatsu nodded and walked in there.

It was an average size conference room, very clean and modern looking. There was one long table in the middle and a smaller one at the front of the room, where many different computers, screens and other devices were. Karamatsu walked inside, letting his eyes roam through the room.

Armstrong walked passed him towards the front of the room. “Please take a seat from anywhere,” he said and placed his briefcase on the table. He took out a recorder. “Is it okay if I record our conversation?” he asked.

Karamatsu let out an agreeing hum, walked closer to him and sat down on a chair opposite to the man. He could feel himself growing nervous again when he thought about the talk they would soon have.

“Bastion should be here soon,” the director said as he placed the recorder on the table between them. “Oh, now that we’re here, would you mind telling me your name?” he asked with a friendly smile.

“Of course!” Karamatsu said and then paused. “My real one, right?”

“I’d appreciate that, but you don’t actually have to tell us your name until you’re joining us if you don’t want to,” he said and took a laptop out from his suitcase, opening it. “Of course that would be classified information, protected with the best tinker technology. But we need to call you something. Do you have a cape name yet?”

Karamatsu shook his head. “Not yet. I’m Karamatsu Matsuno. That’s my real name,” he said and smiled a bit shyly.

“Great! It’s a pleasure meeting you Karamatsu. Can I call you that? It’s your first name, isn’t it?” Armstrong asked.

“Yes, you can call me anything,” Karamatsu answered. “And Karamatsu is the first name, Matsuno the family name.”

“Alright, so-” the man was cut off when there was knocking on the door.

The door was being opened and a man, wearing an armor, stepped into the room. It was Bastion. Karamatsu sucked in air as he watched the most famous superhero of the city to close the door and walk closer. He had a plated armor and a helm that had dark eye protectors attached to it. He was carrying himself with pride and dignity which made Karamatsu feel himself much lower compared to him.

“Good day. I’m glad to meet you, hearing that you might be interested in joining us. I’m Bastion,” the hero introduced himself and offered a hand towards Karamatsu.

Karamatsu stumbled up to his feet quickly, straightening his back, before he accepted Bastion’s hand and shook it. The handshake was firm. “I of course know you sir. I admire the good you’ve done for this city a lot. I’m Karamatsu Matsuno,” he told excited.

“Well, great meeting you Karamatsu,” Bastion said and took a chair from the end of the table next to the other two and sat down.

Karamatsu sat down as well. He was feeling a little giddy. He was sitting next to one of the most famous people in the city! Actually two!

“So, Karamatsu, we would like to know a little more about you if that’s okay,” Armstrong said. “We’ll ask you questions, but anything you don’t want to or feel uncomfortable answering, you don’t have to.”

“Wait, sorry, so what was your power?” Bastion interrupted.

“Sound manipulation,” Karamatsu answered. He gave a small preview, using his own heartbeat. He strengthened the sound until it made the windows jingle, but aimed it so that it wouldn’t hurt the two men’s ears, but they would hear it loud and clear. “This is the sound of my heartbeat. I can manipulate sounds, strengthening them and aiming them or manipulate the affected area,” he said and stopped using his powers.

“How strong are your powers? Can you fight with them?” Bastion asked.

“I’m not sure,” Karamatsu answered. “I haven’t used them that much and I’ve only practiced with really small things. But I did knock out a guy and caused a lot of property damage, although I didn’t know what I was doing then," he said and realized that maybe he didn't give the best first impression. But it was probably for the best to be honest.

Armstrong frowned and Karamatsu could see how he and Bastion shared a quick look. “Were your powers new back then?” the director asked.

Karamatsu nodded. “Yes. I used them by reflex.”

"So, if you don’t mind me asking,” Armstrong started carefully, “was that in your trigger event?" he asked.

Karamatsu frowned, confused. "My what?" he asked.

"The event that made you gain your powers," Bastion cleared.

"Ah," Karamatsu said, nodding. "Umm, yes. It happened then," he said and the uncomfortable feeling that had left him for a moment returned. His brothers in pain, the terrible fear of knowing that they would die right before his eyes.

"When was that?" Bastion asked.

"Two days ago," Karamatsu answered.

"Two days ago??" the superhero asked surprised and the surprise was written all over Armstrong’s face as well.

Karamatsu swallowed, feeling a bit uneasy and confused. "Uhh, yes," he said unsure, moving his gaze from man to man in attempt to understand what had caused the reaction. “Is that bad?”

"That's," Armstrong had a small pause, "surprising. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just that usually it takes a bit longer before parahumans make contact with anyone," he explained.

"So you really haven't used your powers much then," Bastion said, dazed.

Karamatsu bit his cheek. "No. I've been confused and- and scared. And I've spent all the time after getting my powers with my family, so I haven't been able to use them.”

"I see," Armstrong said sympathetically. "So, how are you? I can see your bruises, but are you okay otherwise? You just had your trigger event and we know that something really bad must have happened."

Karamatsu shivered. He had tried to think about other things and thankfully he had been very occupied these two days. Everything was still so fresh, even his physical wounds hadn't healed, and when someone talked with the concern and sympathy, or even a fraction of it, to him, he felt like he could just start crying. Of course he wasn't okay! His brothers had been nearly killed in front of his eyes!!

The second oldest had his eyes glued to the table as he shook his head. "I- I'm not okay," he said with a quieter voice. "But I hope things will get better with time. I know I'm new and probably can't do much and that I'd need a lot of training, but I really feel like I'm doing the right thing, coming to meet you. I'm lost with my powers and I don't dare to use them in fear that my family would find out. But I know that since I now have powers, I have to use them for good. But I have to be sure that my family will be safe," he rambled.

"I see," Armstrong said to him, smiling kindly. "I'm sure you have a lot of emotions on the surface, but I'm still glad you came here this early. We can help and support you."

Those words meant a lot to Karamatsu and he had to bit his lip to keep tears away. He only nodded.

“Are you physically okay? We have doctors if you are hurting,” the director offered.

Karamatsu shook his head. “Physically I’m okay. I didn’t get any serious injuries.”

"That’s a relief,” Armstrong said, offering him a small smile. “But whatever you decide to do now with your powers, we’re here to help you. We can give you help regarding your new powers and the parahuman life. We can advise you of how to adapt into everything."

"True, but joining Protectorate would benefit you the most. It would give you good resources, support network and training possibilities," Bastion said, going straight to the point. "I can tell that you would be more comfortable with a team than going alone."

Karamatsu nodded. He didn’t manage to get any words out of his mouth before Armstrong started speaking again:

"Could you tell us some of your basic information?" he asked. "Just so we can form a better picture of your situation and know better what is it that you need."

Karamatsu nodded once again. "Of course. What do you want to know?"

"Karamatsu Matsuno," Armstrong said thoughtfully. "Is that Korean, Japanese name?" he asked.

"Japanese," Karamatsu answered.

"Are you an immigrant?"

"Yes," Karamatsu said, nodding. "I moved here with my family after Leviathan attacked Kyushu," he said.

Both Bastion and Armstrong nodded. Many Japanese immigrants and refugees had moved in the USA and other countries after the Endbringer attack.

"How old are you?" the hero asked.

"Twenty two."

"So you would be joining us, not the Wards," Bastion said.

"Do you have a profession? Are you a student?" Armstrong asked.

Karamatsu felt a small blush appear on his cheeks. Luckily the other two wouldn't see it behind his mask. "Ah, no. Actually I'm not doing anything right now",” he said a little uneasily. He was pretty sure he saw Bastion’s mouth as a thin line but Armstrong smiled to him.

“That would be then easier for you to join us if you decide so,” he said. Then his face got more serious. “I know trigger events are really painful and you most likely don’t want to talk about it. It’s considered rather rude to even ask about them. But still I’m asking you if you want to say anything about it? Is there something we should be aware of?” he asked.

Karamatsu bit his lip, averting his eyes and pressing his nails into his thighs. He had to leave his brothers out of this and he definitely couldn’t say any reasons why they had been kidnapped and tortured. He really didn’t want to talk about it, but maybe he could give a one sentence answer. PRT might know if The Teeth would be possible threat to him and his brothers, so it would be clever to say something.

Karamatsu kept his eyes on the table as he spoke: “I… was kidnapped by The Teeth.” His voice was low and the pain was there.

Both men looked surprised again. Armstrong looked at him eyes wide. “That must have been horrible. I’m glad you survived,” he said.

“We have been spotting some of their members these past days,” Bastion said. “Looks like they’re moving to another city again. Apparently they had a fight with Blasto’s monsters. Do you know anything about this?” he asked.

Karamatsu swallowed uneasily and stayed quiet for a moment. “Maybe, but I don’t want to talk about it. Sorry.”

“Oh no. No need to apologize,” Armstrong said and started smiling at him again. “Let’s not talk about it anymore.”

“No, actually one more thing,” Karamatsu said before the others could ask him anything else. “I’m worried what they might still do.” He swallowed. “I’m scared of what The Teeth might do to my family.” Scared of what more they might do.

Armstrong nodded. “I see. I can’t lie to you, there’s of course the possibility that something might happen.”

“I’m not sure, but I think that they won’t be a problem for a while in Boston,” Bastion said. “Of course I can be wrong and you should never feel too safe. But I can tell my team to pay even more attention if they can pick up any signs of them.”

“Could you really do that?” Karamatsu asked, hopefully. “I’d appreciate it very much.”

Bastion nodded. “And if you decide to join us, I’m sure something could be arranged to keep your family safe,” he said and turned to look at Armstrong.

Armstrong looked at Bastion and then at Karamatsu. “It has been done before so I’m sure it could be possible,” he said.

Karamatsu’s eyes had widened. He might be able to keep his family safer if he joined. PRT might be able to provide them some sort of protection. That would mean that he wouldn’t have to feel as bad about leaving them when he had to go out. Of course he felt best if he could see that they were safe. Now he could even do something if someone tried to hurt them, but he had other duties as well. He had to become a hero. If he had a power to help people, he should use it. “That would be even better,” he said. “I don’t know if the members of The Teeth know that I’m alive, but I’m scared that they’ll hurt my family while I’m not there to keep them safe.” “ _ Scared that they would hurt them again and maybe this time we wouldn’t be as lucky.” _

“Of course working as a superhero has its dangers. I’m sure you understand that,” Bastion said seriously.

Karamatsu nodded. “Yes. But even living as a civilian can be dangerous.” They had been nearly killed.

“That’s sadly true,” Armstrong said. “But if you want to pursue a career as a hero, protectorate is the safest option. You’d have your team and PRT would have its full support on you. PRT is a powerful organization, believe me. Single heroes or vigilantes don’t usually last that long. Also while starting your independent career, you’d also be at risk that some villain group would want to recruit you.”

Karamatsu nodded. “I want to use these powers to keep the city safer.”

Armstrong smiled at him. “I’m happy to hear that,” he said, then continued: “Let’s talk about what it would mean if you started working here. You’d start with a trial period, meaning that your salary wouldn’t be full and you’d not be the group leader while on missions. The salary is nothing great but pretty good. We’d get you all the necessary gear you’d need and want if we see them useful and our designers would make you your costume. You’d receive training as well as support from everyone. We’d make you a hero that the city would love,” he said, smiling widely.

Karamatsu was smiling excitedly back at him. “I like the sound of that,” he said.

“Do you want to ask anything?” Bastion asked.

Karamatsu looked at the table in thought before he met their eyes again. “You do want me to join? You think that I could be of help?” he asked. He was almost having hard time to believe that he was actually wanted, he, Karamatsu.

“New capes are always needed in the team,” Bastion said professional and serious as ever. “I’m sure you’d be a good addition.”

“We do want you,” Armstrong said, smiling. “But the decision is of course yours to make and I want you to think it carefully before deciding anything. It’d change your life quite a bit.”

Karamatsu smiled happy and excited. These people wanted him. Bastion wanted him on his team! It was unbelievable. “Thank you. I think that the fact that I turned into a parahuman changed my life already quite a lot,” he said, letting out a soft chuckle.

Armstrong smiled at his answer as he pulled his laptop closer to himself, wrote something on it and made a few clicks. Then he moved it aside, turning it around so that all of them could see the screen. He had the website of the Protectorate open. “From our website you can find general introduction of the Protectorate. From here you can get to PRT’s sites if you’re interested,” he demonstrated and paused for a short moment, letting the info sink in. “Okay, from this menu you find a list of all the Protectorates and here’s Boston,” he said and clicked the name. A new page loaded and an overview of Boston Protectorate appeared on the screen.

”If you’re interested, I recommend you to check these pages out,” Armstrong said. “Now we have six heroes in our Protectorate and six Wards.” Wards were junior heroes, underaged and thus not able to join the actual protectorate yet. “For example, you can find their profiles from here as well as some contact informations such as mine.”

Karamatsu nodded. “Okay.”

“As you know Bastion is the leader of the Protectorate heroes,” the director said and the superhero nodded. “The Wards are led by Weld.”

Karamatsu tried not to smile his stupid excited smile, but failed. It was all so exciting. He was sitting next to the legendary Bastion and he might meet all the heroes of the city. “Sounds really good,” he said.

Armstrong smiled at him. “Now, what do you say, we show you little around the place?” he asked.

Karamatsu’s eyes widened in excitement, but then he frowned. “What time is it?” he asked. His brothers were at home hurting and traumatized. He had to be there to take care of them. There wasn’t much he could do but he had to be there.

Armstrong glanced at his watch. “It’s quarter past three,” he said.

Karamatsu had already been away from home for a couple of hours and it’d take nearly another hour for him to walk back home. He frowned, troubled. “I’m sorry, I should go back home. My brothers- everything is not fine there. They need me and I feel really bad not being with them when I’m needed. I’m sorry,” he said, standing up. The anxious feeling inside his chest only grew as he thought of them and the fact that he had already been away from them for too long.

Bastion and Armstrong stood up as well. “Don’t worry about it, I understand,” the director said kindly. “Since you just got your powers and things must be still really complicated, I think it is for the best if you take some time thinking about all of this. However, before you go, I’d wish you to do an official registration as a parahuman with me. It is anonymous and in it you’d just state that you are a new parahuman, that you exist, give a short description of your powers and tell your status. That information would go to PRT’s files and even if you wouldn’t join us, our heroes everywhere would have easier time to recognize you and they could verify that you’re not hostile. Would that be okay?” Armstrong asked.

“Sure,” Karamatsu said and sat down again, the other two following his example.

“Great,” Armstrong said. “You know, we really appreciate it if capes tell about themselves to us voluntarily. It makes things much easier for us and we can tell with a pretty good certainty that they won’t be causing any problems to us.” He pulled out a few papers from his suitcase, looked them through quickly and then handed them to Karamatsu. “The only things required to write there is your powers and assert that what’s written is true.”

Karamatsu took the papers and read them through. There were many questions, but he’d only answer in few. All the personal information he left blank. His operating area he wrote to be Boston. Then he started to write the description of his powers.

“ _ Sound manipulation. Ability to strengthen and aim sounds. Dim glowing of the skin. _ ”

For his status he checked inoperative at the moment. Since he didn’t have any name to sign the paper with, he repeated the following words “ _ I confirm the given information true _ ” and then he wrote the date and the place. He looked it through quickly and then gave the paper to Armstrong. “Is this enough?” he asked.

Armstrong read the paper quickly then looked up and smiled at Karamatsu. “This is enough. Now you exist officially to PRT.”

Karamatsu nodded, his lips a thin line. It was a big deal.

“So that’s all about that. You were about to leave?” the director reminded friendly.

Karamatsu blinked. “Oh, right,” he said, standing up again. “Thank you so much for your time. It has been really helpful.”

“We’re happy you came,” Armstrong said friendly. “And don’t hesitate to contact us again anytime. Is there any way we can reach you? Would you be okay with giving me your phone number?” he asked.

“Umm… actually I don’t have a cell phone,” Karamatsu said. “And I can’t give you my house number or someone else might answer it.”

“Oh. Then would you take a phone if we gave you one?” Armstrong asked. “It would be safer for you in case you run into trouble. You would be able contact us and the other way around.”

Karamatsu was surprised by the offer but he nodded. “Sure. That would be alright if you have phones to spare.”

“Of course, that would be no problem!” the man said. “Let’s go get you one,” he continued, walking to the door. Karamatsu and Bastion followed him and they all left the room. Armstrong led them to the elevator again. “We’ll go quickly pick one up for you and then we can see you off.”

They went a couple of floors down and then the doors opened to reveal a room with a few tables and people working on computers. Everybody turned to look at the trio entering with curiosity and surprise.

“Hello,” Armstrong said, walking closer to the tables while the employees looked at them interested. “I need a cell phone for my friend here,” he said referring to Karamatsu.

“Of course,” a man said and stood up. He walked to the door in the back of the room and opened it with a code.

Armstrong turned to look at Karamatsu. “We keep some of our less valuable supplies here,” he explained.

The man returned quickly, sat down in front of his desk and started to prepare the phone. After a minute he stood up and came to offer it to Karamatsu, who accepted it. “Here’s the phone. It’s prepaid. Be careful with what information you give through phone and especially don’t say anything that reveals your personal information or identity. In this paper is the pin code. Some numbers are already saved on it.” He looked at Karamatsu curiously but decided not to ask anything.

“Thank you,” Karamatsu said, looking at the phone in wonder. It wasn’t a smartphone but it was still a phone.

“Alright, thanks!” Armstrong said to the man and turned to Karamatsu. “Shall we go then?” he asked.

“Yes,” Karamatsu answered and put the phone and the note into his hoodie’s pocket. “Thank you,” he said to the employees and started following after Armstrong and Bastion once again to the elevator. They got in and started descending to the ground floor.

“Is there something else that comes into your mind right now that you’d want to know?” the director asked.

“I don’t know,” Karamatsu said. “There’s so many things that I don’t know what to ask. This has been a lot to take in.” A small smile appeared on his face.

“Next time you come, I’d like to try your powers a little,” Bastion said. “We could see what you can do.” Even he smiled a little.

Karamatsu nodded. “I’d like that if you have some place where it would be safe.”

The elevator door opened and the three of them made their way back to the first room Karamatsu had been taken in. “We have training rooms that can stand a lot,” Armstrong answered. “Now, do you want a ride somewhere? I don’t mean to your home but a little further from the busiests streets? The other option is that you go out from the back and leave your mask in one of the trash cans.”

“Oh no, I don’t need a ride,” Karamatsu said hastily. “I don’t want to be anymore bother to you. I can go out from the back.”

“It wouldn’t be any bother, but of course whatever you’re more comfortable with,” Armstrong said and led them out from the room and into a corridor again. He spoke while the three of them walked: “If you use your powers outside, please protect your identity, I’m sure you understand this. I’m very happy that you came to see us. You don’t have to decide anything right now, just take your time. But I hope that you to come visit us again so we can have another talk and show you around. Don’t hesitate to ask us anything, be in contact or stop by without a notice anytime.”

“Thank you so much. I feel much better now than I did before I came here. But it’s just that my family really needs me now and I want to be there for them, so I might not have that much time to visit for now. And you’re right, I really should think this through,” Karamatsu said.

“It was nice to meet you, Karamatsu,” Bastion said almost formally. “I’m looking forward the next time.”

“It was honor meeting you both,” Karamatsu answered. “I hope I can come by later this week,” he said.

Armstrong stopped and opened a door that opened to a back alley. Then he turned to smile at him. “Anytime. I hope to see you again soon! Stay safe.”

“Likewise,” Karamatsu said, nodding, and stepped outside. There was no one to be seen there. Over his shoulder Karamatsu saw how Bastion gave him a curt nod and Armstrong smiled at him. Karamatsu nodded to them with a smile and closed the door after himself. From his side, where the busy street was, Karamatsu could hear traffic and even some talking. It was so weird that everything went on the same way it always did, but he felt completely different than ever before. His world had been changed.

Karamatsu took off his mask, his black eye and bruised face revealed again, and left it in a trash can. He took a deep breath and started walking away from the alleyway. For now everything seemed a bit brighter and better for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> Please bear with me through these chapters and something more interesting will come up. Don't you want to know what happened to each brother when they were kidnapped?
> 
> Love u! <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karamatsu trains with Bastion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!  
This chapter we get to see a little more Karamatsu's powers. 
> 
> Betaread by Rustfeather.
> 
> OH!! I'M DOING A FIC GIVE AWAY!!
> 
> It's thanks to everyone who has subscribed me💗
> 
> Here's how it'll go - Suggest a fic that you'd want me to write (oneshot, no nsfw), I'll collect all the ideas and have a poll in my twitter where you can vote for your favourite. I'll write the winner idea. You can comment ideas here or message them to me on twitter @dragonfruitkiss.
> 
> Please give me ideas!! Thank you~~

A few days later Karamatsu was in the kitchen, waiting for tea water to boil. His bruises had turned into yellow color and they were fading. His cuts and scratches would probably stay for a little longer before they were completely gone. Their parents were again at work and his brothers were in the living room. He was standing at the doorway so that he would notice right away if someone was coming while he used his powers. He was using the sound of the kettle to push his cup around the table. It was exciting how easy it was. He was tempted to use more of his powers, but he couldn’t with his brothers there.

He was still amazed by them. He could make a sound so strong that it could move objects and he knew that this was nothing yet. At the same time he could limit the area it was affecting so well that he was sure that his brothers would only hear the normal sound of boiling water. Karamatsu couldn’t help himself wanting to go all out and test his limits, but obviously he had to restrain himself. He didn’t want to accidentally knock down the walls.

The kettle turned off. Karamatsu picked up the cup and made himself tea before returning to the living room. He was just as worried about his brothers as he had been before and he hadn’t dared to leave their side again after his first visit to the PRT building.

The atmosphere in their room was gloomy. Todomatsu was laying on the floor under a blanket, facing the wall. He didn’t have bandages around his wrist anymore, but his fingers hadn’t gotten much better. His torn off nails didn’t seem to hurt as much anymore, but it would take a long time for them to grow back. The broken fingers weren’t swollen anymore, but they were obviously sore and in casts. With most of his fingers hurting and wrecked, Totty couldn’t do much with his hands. The youngest was still miserable and quiet.

Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu were again sitting on the couch, reading a comic book together. While the other brothers had distanced themselves from the others, the two of them seemed to be almost without an exception next to each other. They rarely spoke anything, but they seemed to get some comfort from each other. Jyushimatsu’s physical wounds had healed pretty well, but Karamatsu had seen his smile only a few times after the event and it wasn’t yet the same as it used to be. Ichimatsu was gloomier and quieter than usual, not even snapping at Karamatsu. His leg was clearly aching and he limped. It would take some time before it wouldn’t affect his moving anymore.

Choromatsu was standing and looking out of the window with a blank stare. He was still spending most of his time in his own thoughts. He was distant and quiet. Luckily his concussion hadn’t been that bad, but he was taking painkillers because of his broken rib. His bruises had also turned yellow. It was unsettling to see him acting so differently. Karamatsu would have guessed that he would have been talking constantly in anxiety, but instead he had shut into himself.

Karamatsu wasn’t so sure of what to think about Osomatsu. The eldest was sitting on the floor, leaning to a wall in his own thoughts. The oldest was covered in healing bruises and cuts, but at times the way he was acting caught Karamatsu off guard. Although he was really caring and worried about their younger brothers, he had went out everyday and something about him was just off. Karamatsu had seen him smiling a very unsettling smile by himself and sometimes Karamatsu had seen his mouth curve up into yet another twisted smile. A few times he had heard a few quiet chuckles from the oldest that he might have missed without his powers that made him more sensitive to sounds. It was really weird, but Karamatsu supposed it was some weird coping mechanism and perhaps it was better than if Osomatsu had been all the time as sad as their younger brothers. Still the second oldest wondered if he should be worried for him or try to talk to him.

“Does anyone else want tea?” Karamatsu asked as he entered the room. Choromatsu jumped, startled, and turned around to face him, eyes wide. “Whoah, it’s just me,” Karamatsu said, a little surprised at his brother’s reaction even if it Choromatsu had been super jumpy since the event. 

Choromatsu took a deep breath and tried to relax his tensed shoulders. ”I just didn’t hear you coming,” he mumbled quietly and averted his eyes. He slowly sat himself down on the floor and hugged his knees, looking away distantly.

Karamatsu frowned in worry and was pondering whether or not he should try to talk to him, but before he could decide anything, Osomatsu stood up, grimazing a little as the movement must have made him ache, and closed the distance between them. “Hey, Karamatsu, I thought I’d go outside soon. You won’t be going anywhere, right?” he spoke quietly not to disturb the younger ones.

“Ah, no. Not today,” Karamatsu answered. “But actually I think I’ll go tomorrow to the center. You’d be home then, right?”

Osomatsu nodded. “Sure if you’re going out. I’ll take care of them then.”

“Thank you, brother,” Karamatsu said, offering him a small smile.

“Okay. I’ll be off soon then,” the oldest said and walked out of the room.

Karamatsu looked again around the room and his smile disappeared instantly. He felt so bad for the others but he had to go to the PRT building again. He had to talk more about his possible future career as a hero and he wanted to be around people who understood what he was feeling. He wanted to try out his powers and train with Bastion. That would be awesome.

The second oldest took in a deep breath, frowning sadly, and sat down to the ground, leaning to the couch. Even if he couldn’t do much, he would always be there for his brothers.

\---

The next day Karamatsu was walking in the city, making his way towards the PRT building. He had sent a text to Armstrong, informing him that he would be coming that day. The man had welcomed him and given him instructions of what he should say at the counter.

Karamatsu was excited. He couldn’t help but love the idea of himself as a hero. He wanted to help people. He would love the spotlight. Still he was also nervous. Not nearly as much as the last time he had visited, but he couldn’t help it. These were important people who he was going to meet again. They spared their time for someone like him. He was also nervous because he was not confident about his powers and maybe not yet at peace with the fact that he was a parahuman. It was all just so new and overwhelming.

The second born looked up to see the top of the building where he was going. It truly was as grand as you’d expect. Butterflies in his stomach, he entered the building. Karamatsu made it through the first hallway with much more confidence than last time. Arriving to the lobby, he took a queue number for “Business Appointment” and sat down to wait.

It didn’t take long before his number was blinking over one of the counters and he made his way there nervous but determined. “Hello!” Karamatsu started, remembering his instructions. “I came here because of a study about the Wards’ diet,” he said, trying to sound as normal and proper as possible. “ _ Don’t act nervous!” _ he ordered himself, but he could tell that even if he was doing his best to remain calm, his face showed some of his nervousness. Sadly he couldn’t change the tone of his voice with his powers.

A long haired young man behind the counter looked at him and gave him a nod. He made a few clicks with his computer and turned to look at Karamatsu, standing up. “Just a second,” he said, left his counter and soon appeared to Karamatsu’s side. He waved towards the big elevators on one of the walls. “This way, sir,” he said politely.

“Thank you,” Karamatsu thanked and followed him.

The two of them stepped into one of the elevators and the employee pressed the button for the right floor. After a moment of silence the man started speaking: “You’ll be in the meeting room 612,” he said, the elevator stopped and they started walking through a corridor that had many doors on both sides, most of them labelled as meeting rooms. Once they reached the right one, the man opened the door with a keycard.

He stepped aside, making way for Karamatsu, who stepped into the small room with a table in the middle. There was no one else there.

“Please wait here until your interviewee arrives. If they won’t show up, walk back towards the elevators. The first room on the left has staff in it who would handle that situation. The room is labelled Office 601,” the man told. “Is everything clear?”

Karamatsu nodded at him. “Yes, thank you,” he said and took a seat.

“Good. I’ll be going then,” the man said and closed the door, leaving Karamatsu alone.

The second born took a deep breath. There he was again. No need to be nervous. His eyes roamed around the plain, windowless room. There was nothing interesting. The only sounds he could hear were his own heartbeat and breathing, air condition and some faint noises through the door. He quickly wondered what would happen if he would go all out with his powers. How much damage could he do?

Karamatsu startled a little as the door opened. “Hello again, Karamatsu!” Armstrong greeted him as him and Bastion stepped inside the room.

“Good to see you back,” Bastion said.

Karamatsu stood up and nearly bowed his head, but changed it into a nod at the last minute. People didn’t bow in the US, but old habits die slowly. And these two were so powerful and completely on a different level than him. “Hello! I’m glad you had time for me again.”

“Of course, of course!” Armstrong said. “Let’s sit down for a moment,” he said, seating himself and the two other followed after his example. He smiled at Karamatsu. “So, it has been a few days. How are you?”

Karamatsu returned his smile. “I think the few days did some good even if I wished I had had a chance to come back earlier. I had some time to think about all of this.”

“That’s good,” Bastion said. “How about your family issues?”

Karamatsu’s smile disappeared and he averted his eyes. “Things are the same,” he answered.

“Do you think that would be a problem for you starting to work with us?” the superhero asked.

Karamatsu stayed quiet for a moment, then he nodded. “If things don’t get better, it would always take some of my focus. But I think they will get better. I’m sure they will.” He tried to convince himself about it.

Armstrong nodded sympathetically. “At first I think it would be best if you came here whenever you have the possibility. First few weeks would go anyways with planning, training and orientation. We could take things slow with you,” he said.

Karamatsu nodded. “Right. Sorry to change the topic, but do you have any information about The Teeth that you can tell me?” he asked. “Any idea about their whereabouts?”

Bastion frowned. “We haven’t seen them here. New York Protectorate reported that the group has been a bit more active over there the past few days. However, I can’t confirm that they have all left Boston,” he said.

“They take turns operating in different cities, but I would be ready to bet that some of them are always staying behind to keep an eye on things while the rest of the group is elsewhere,” Armstrong said.

Karamatsu nodded, his eyes glued to the table. “I see. I’d appreciate it if you told me, if you hear anything about them.”

“We will, don’t worry,” Armstrong said. “As long as Butcher doesn’t show up, they rarely are too much of a problem.”

Karamatsu shivered. He thanked all the gods he knew that the psychotic, overpowered leader of the group hadn’t been there when they had been kidnapped. Otherwise the outcome wouldn’t have been as lucky. Karamatsu met Armstrong’s eyes and nodded. “Thank you.”

“Have you been able to use your powers?” Bastion asked, changing the subject.

“Not much,” Karamatsu answered. “It’s been almost frustrating when I can’t really try them out.”

Bastion smiled a little. “I want to go training with you,” he said. “Are you ready now?”

“That would be great,” Karamatsu answered, excited. He had been waiting for it.

Armstrong smiled. “I can see both of you are looking forward to it, so why don’t we go right now? I’m also curious to see your powers in bigger use,” he said.

Karamatsu looked at the both men with shining eyes. “Sure! Let’s go if that’s okay.”

“Great.” Armstrong said, smiling widely. “Before we go, would you want to have a mask again?” he asked, taking out the same kind of black mask as the last time from his case.

“Ah. Uh, yes, sure,” Karamatsu said and took the offered item. The simple design was practical but very boring. He put it on.

Armstrong nodded approvingly and the three of them stood up and left the room. They took an elevator to the underground floors and after a short corridor, big doors opened to reveal a huge, empty training hall.

Karamatsu walked in, looking around in wonder. Then he turned to face the other two. Both of them were smiling at his amazed expression. “Are you sure nothing will break? This building can take it?” Karamatsu asked in worry. He didn’t want to destroy another building.

“It can take it, don’t worry,” Bastion reassured, walking closer. “You have no idea how strong powers have been trained in here. Kamil will be in another room to follow, so you can go all out.”

Karamatsu was starting to get really excited and he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “Are you sure? It’ll be safe?”

“Karamatsu, I have force fields. I can assure you there’s nothing to be worried about,” Bastion said, his lips curving up into a cocky smile.

Karamatsu nodded. “Alright,” he said, picking up his own voice separate from the others and making it echo in the hall as if he had been speaking to a microphone. He didn’t make it so loud that it would hurt anyone’s ears, but he was pretty sure his voice reached every part of the hall equally as strong. He was getting excited.

"Great," Armstrong said, smiling. "I'll go then, so you can begin. Do only what you're comfortable with, alright?" he said and started walking out of the room. "I trust you to take care of him, Bastion."

The hero nodded curtly as the door closed. Then he turned his attention on Karamatsu. "We’ll try your power out a little before you can go all out. I don’t want to end up deaf,” Bastion said and walked a few meters ahead of Karamatsu, then turning to face him. “Can you hit me with your power hard enough that I can feel it, but that you don’t knock me out?”

Karamatsu nodded. “I think so.” He was tense from head to toe.

“Then let me have it,” Bastion said, looking almost excited, and took a stance.

Karamatsu took a deep breath and focused. He could feel all the sounds within his ear length. There weren’t many sounds to be heard, but there was always something. He focused on his beating heart and as he got a grasp on the steady sound, it got quickly louder and stronger and soon Karamatsu was sure that even Bastion could hear it clearly. Then he focused the sound only to Bastion, knowing that the hero would hear and feel the sound much stronger and any other areas would have it.

The sound waves hit the hero, who had a focused expression on his face, and Karamatsu made them become gradually stronger. He made sure that the sound wouldn’t be too loud to damage Bastion’s hearing, but he was sure that the physical effect was affecting him. Karamatsu sent a stronger wave of his heart’s beating towards him and he could see how Bastion staggered backwards, nearly losing his footing.

“Good!” Bastion shouted. A normal person couldn’t have heard him over that noise Karamatsu was making, but the second born could separate the hero’s words from his heartbeats. “Make it stronger!”

Karamatsu frowned a bit unsure, but did as he had been told. Bastion staggered a few more steps backwards before he created a forcefield in front of him. He was smiling excited. “Try to break it!” he shouted.

Karamatsu nodded and knit his eyebrows together in concentration. He was just standing there while commanding the sounds like he wanted. This was definitely the most he had consciously used his powers. He hit the forcefield with waves of sound and it didn’t take long before Bastion covered himself everywhere with it. The superhero clenched his teeth together and covered his ears with his hands. Karamatsu frowned unsure whether he should stop at this point. The entire room was echoing with the loud beating that Bastion’s forcefield reflected everywhere.

Karamatsu stopped using his powers. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Bastion made his forcefield disappear and crossed his arms, smiling a little. “Good! That’s really good!” he said louder than necessary now that the noise Karamatsu had created was gone. “Your power has a really effective physical side which makes it much more powerful than just normal loud noises. Nearly knocked me off my feet there. My forcefields stop that effect completely, but the voice is still really loud. So, earlier you made your voice sound like it was coming from a loudspeaker. Can you make a sound really loud without it getting this knock back effect?” he asked.

“I… I think so,” Karamatsu answered. He took again the beating sound of his heart and made it grow louder. “I’m trying. Tell me when to stop,” he said and had to also strengthen his own voice so that Bastion would surely hear it. The superhero nodded. Karamatsu kept on strengthening the sound and soon he saw how Bastion covered his ears again. Karamatsu knew that the sound was getting already really loud and it would soon be loud enough to possibly harm a person’s hearing. It was good that he couldn’t harm himself with his powers. He started to feel nervous and to his relief Bastion yelled him to stop which Karamatsu did.

Bastion exhaled, lowering his hands to his sides again. “There wasn’t that effect that could move me backwards. It was just a normal loud noise. My ears are going to ring after this,” he said.

“I’m sorry, I- You should have told me to stop earlier,” Karamatsu said, worried that he had used too much of his power, which he knew could seriously hurt someone.

Bastion shook his head. “I’m fine. You could still go louder than that right?” he asked.

“Yes,” Karamatsu answered with confidence. He hadn’t gone louder before, but he could feel that he was able to do that.

“Any idea how much?”

“I don’t know. Sorry.”

Bastion nodded. “That was close to reaching the threshold of pain, I think. Your power definitely has a potential to harm hearing,” he said. “But it’s really good to know that you can also strengthen sounds without knocking people down.”

Karamatsu nodded as well. “But I’m worried that I’ll hurt someone,” he said.

“That’s a good quality to have. Have you hurt anyone with your powers?” the superhero asked.

“Yes,” Karamatsu answered.

“After your trigger event?”

“Ah, no.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t be too worried,” Bastion said. “I think you have a pretty good understanding of your powers and knowing what will hurt people. And since you don’t want to hurt anyone, you know how to use them without doing that.”

“I guess,” Karamatsu said, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Okay. Can you tune down voices as well?”

Karamatsu’s eyes widened slightly and then he shook his head. “Not exactly. I can’t make any sounds weaker the same way I can make them stronger, but I can direct them somewhere else,” he said, doing his best to explain his powers. Not exactly an easy job. “Let’s say someone started making a loud noise there,” he said, pointing towards the other end of the room. “The soundwaves come here to us. I can’t make them disappear or weaken them, but I can make them go somewhere else. I can just not let those soundwaves come here, although I think some of them could still reach us, my block being imperfect. The sound would stay mostly there. Or I can take all that sound and direct the worst of it to some specific direction, let’s say solely to that door. Do I make any sense?” he asked, turning to look at Bastion.

The superhero nodded. “I think I understand the most of it. As well as someone can understand someone else’s powers that is. So if there was an explosion, you might be able to protect our ears from any possible damage?” he asked.

“Theoretically yes, but I think my reaction time and the nature of explosion’s sound would become an issue there,” Karamatsu answered. “I’m not sure I could have the time to do anything before the sound would already hit.”

“Okay!” Bastion said louder and looked to a corner where Karamatsu spotted a surveillance camera. “Armstrong, could you start target practise 4?”

“Of course!” the director’s voice sounded through the speakers of the room and soon hatches on the ceiling opened and twelve wooden targets, hanging from chains, were lowered until they were hanging a meter above the floor. The targets formed a circle in the middle of the room and the two parahumans walked to them.

“Go to the middle of them,” Bastion instrucked Karamatsu. “Then try hitting all of them with your powers. I want to see if you can hit them all at the same time. Make them move,” he said and created a forcefield around himself.

“Alright.” Karamatsu nodded and walked in the middle of the circle of the targets. He eyed them around him. This should be easy. He didn’t even have to aim anywhere. He took one more glance at Bastion to see that he was safely behind the forcefield. Then he clicked his tongue, strengthening the sound of it the second it left his mouth. The hard hitting soundwaves spread to every direction.

As a result, all of the targets swung violently backwards as much as the chains gave way and then they started swinging back and forth wildly as Karamatsu had stopped the sound.

He turned to look at Bastion, who nodded to him. “Very good. Now I want to see if you can break anything. Armstrong, training target 8.”

The twelve targets were reeled in and the hatches closed. Then a hatch on the floor opened and a wooden wall rose up to Karamatsu’s side. It was roughly the size of the wall in the Matsuno sextuplets’ shared room and it was made from thick wooden planks. Karamatsu glanced at Bastion, expecting him to tell him what to do, although he could already guess what it would be.

“This wall is attached tightly to the floor. It can’t be knocked down unless broken,” Bastion said. “I want you to break it.”

“I’ll try,” Karamatsu said, his frown deepening. He turned to face the wall in front of himself and took a deep breath. Focusing on the steady beat of his heart, he started hitting the wall with strong waves of sound, being careful to direct the soundwaves away from Bastion. Nothing happened at first and Karamatsu strengthened the sound more. The wall started to creak and as Karamatsu used still more of his powers, it cracked from one side at first, then it broke into half. The upper part of the wall flew a couple of meters behind before it hit the ground with a loud clatter.

Karamatsu was breathing a bit faster. He could feel how he was shaking. It wasn’t that he was exhausted because he wasn’t. It was just overwhelming using all these new powers. The only time he had done anything like this had been when his brothers had been suffering right before his eyes. It had been an involuntary reaction then, one that he had not been actually in control of in his desperate panic to do something. But now he had verified clearly that he was capable of destroying. He had destroyed a building and now this. He wasn’t a human. It was scary and exciting at the same time and he wasn’t sure how to process all of it.

Three slow claps from behind his back made him turn around and face Bastion, who was walking closer to him. “I’m really happy that you can do this. Your powers will be really useful. Then-” he was cut off as Armstrong’s voice sounded from the speakers:

“I think this is enough for now. Good job, both of you. I’m coming there.”

Bastion nodded, then turned again to Karamatsu. “It went well. Let’s go,” he said and the two of them walked to the door where Armstrong appeared, smiling widely. Karamatsu must admit that he was grateful that the training was over for now. He hadn’t felt as alive for a long time, but it was still emotionally straining. He also couldn’t stop thinking about his trigger event now that he had used his powers to this extent. He felt the familiar ache in his heart again. He hoped the others were alright at home.

“I’m really impressed!” Armstrong said, smiling excitedly at Karamatsu. “Your powers are great!” he complimented. “How are you feeling?” he asked kindly, but from the look in his eyes Karamatsu got the idea that he had possibly seen the mix of complicated emotions that were filling Karamatsu’s mind at the moment.

Karamatsu blinked his eyes a few times, swallowed and smiled back at him. “I’m good. I’m happy that I got to use my powers like this. It’s just…” he said and had a small pause. “It’s overwhelming. I can’t help thinking about what happened when- when I got them,” he said, averting his eyes.

Armstrong nodded sympathetically and smiled at him friendly. “I understand. It has been only a few days and I imagine it’s something that won’t be so easy to process. But there’s no rush. Use your powers in a way that you’re comfortable with. What do you say, we go look around a little?” he asked.

“That would be nice,” Karamatsu answered. He hoped it would take his thoughts away from his poor brothers for a moment.

“Good. Let’s move then,” Armstrong said and started leading the three of them out of the room and to the elevator. As the elevator doors closed after them, he took out his phone and pushed a few buttons before pressing it against his ear. He smiled at Karamatsu. “Sorry, this will only take a second,” he said. Karamatsu nodded.

“Hello,” the director spoke to the phone. “Yes, it’s me. I’m just checking, is there any tourist groups today going anywhere else than the exhibition? If yes, when? Okay. Okay. That’s good, thank you. Alright, that’s all. Thanks, bye!” Armstrong spoke and ended the call, then looked at Karamatsu. “I had to make sure that no outsiders see you. But now everything’s clear. Still keep your mask on.”

They went up only a couple of floors before the elevator stopped and the doors opened. On Armstrong’s lead, they stepped into a big dining hall. Roughly one third of the tables were taken. It was past the most common lunchtime and it was relatively quiet.

“This is our cafeteria where many PRT employees eat. I eat here if I have time,” Armstrong told. “Heroes don’t usually eat here since food is provided to them to their lobbys or quarters. However, if you’re in need of some snacks or want something that you can’t find from the vending machines, here they sell some pretty good pastries and variety of coffees and teas.” Some curious eyes were on them as they stood there, but most of the people hadn’t realized their presence. “Okay, that’s all that’s here,” Armstrong said and they returned to the elevator.

Next they arrived into a wide corridor that had office spaces with glass walls on both sides. Armstrong started to lead them ahead.

“Here are a few of our offices. Only some really common things are handled here, for example some of the bills, things related to the customer service and many related to PRT staff. All the more delicate and confidential issues are handled elsewhere,” Armstrong explained as they walked.

Karamatsu looked around curiously. It was just a normal office, nothing too special. Still he felt a little uncomfortable. These people in the offices seemed to be working hard with their computers and high stacks of papers. Karamatsu was just a useless NEET while these people were so proper. Suddenly he started to feel disbelief again of how it was possible that someone like him could be walking and talking with some of the city’s most important persons? He didn’t deserve it.

“Karamatsu?” Armstrong said in a low voice and Karamatsu met his eyes quickly. “You started to look pretty distant. What were you thinking?”

Karamatsu averted his eyes. “Nothing. It was nothing,” he answered.

“Alright,” Armstrong said as they arrived to another elevator and stepped in. Armstrong led them through a few different floors full of offices, storages, meeting rooms and so on while Bastion and Karamatsu followed after him.

Karamatsu was interested to be able to see the place, but his thoughts were taking a big part of his attention. He had to prove himself. If he became a hero, he would be a proper citizen, right? It was the right thing to do, wasn’t it? He would finally do something that was important, be useful and get a job. He would start making money. His eyes widened slightly as he thought about it. Their family was poor, but he would be able to help a lot with his salary. He didn’t know for sure, but he suspected that their parents hadn’t been able to pay for their hospital bills. It was his responsibility to help them since he had the possibility to do that now. And when their family’s debts were paid, he could afford therapy at least to some of his brothers. They really needed it and the opportunity to offer them that was being given to him. It would mean that he wouldn’t be able to be as much with them as he wanted to, but Osomatsu would be there. He would understand that Karamatsu had to work to help their brothers, right? The oldest would take care of them if needed.

Karamatsu felt a surge of determination rush through him. He wanted to become a hero and it would also help his brothers, so it was what he had to do. He’d join the protectorate for his family’s sake.

Karamatsu opened his mouth to speak, but at the same moment the elevator doors opened once again and Armstrong stepped into a small, empty room, walking towards a door that was in the back. He cracked it open. “Wards, put on your masks. You have a visitor,” he said in a loud voice so that he was being heard.

Karamatsu tensed up with excitement, his other thoughts quickly forgotten. They were going to see Wards?

“Come in!” an answer came from behind the door.

Armstrong opened the door and stepped to the side, holding it open and turning to look at Karamatsu friendly. Karamatsu swallowed and walked inside the room, Bastion following behind him quietly. Karamatsu felt suddenly really self conscious about his old jeans and hoodie, and his plain, black mask. Nervously he observed the new room that he assumed was the junior heroes’ lobby.

It was a cozy looking room with a few tables, couches and armchairs. Two people were in there. Without a doubt more noticeable of them was a teenage boy, completely made of metals. His skin, his hair, his eyes - everything that was on the sight from his clothes - was metal, mostly dark grey of color with some silver highlights making his muscles more noticeable. His eyes were silver and from their outer corners two lines came down to his cheekbones and jaws. He was just standing up as Karamatsu entered. The metallic boy watched eyes widening at Karamatsu, who had stopped to stand close to the door, staring back at him in wonder.

“Hello, you two,” Armstrong greeted the parahumans in the room. Only now Karamatsu took a quick look on the girl that was sitting at a table with a laptop in front of herself. She had a dyed blond, shoulder length hair and a visor was covering her eyes and cheekbones. “This is the new parahuman I told you about,” Armstrong presented.

The metallic boy blinked and walked closer to Karamatsu, extending his arm for him to shake. “Nice to meet you. I’m Weld,” he said, friendly.

Karamatsu stared at him still in wonder and shook his hand. “Of course I know you, Weld! It’s an honor to meet you,” he said.

“Weld is the leader of our Wards team,” Armstrong said.

“Well, I’m really new in this and still getting used to it,” Weld answered.

“You’re doing great,” Armstrong said and turned to look at the other Ward in the room, everyone else following after his example.

The girl nodded politely, looking at Karamatsu over her laptop. “I’m Itakunai. Pleasure,” she said.

Karamatsu’s eyes shot wide open behind his mask. Was the girl Japanese? “ _ Nice to meet you. Are you Japanese? _ ” he asked in his native language.

The girl seemed surprised as well. “_I- I’m half Japanese. I’ve lived in Boston always. I’m not good in Japanese,_” she answered him, her Japanese a little rough. “_You are Japanese?_”

“_I’m Japanese, yes. And you speak well,_” Karamatsu answered, smiling at her. Then he switched back to English. “I became a parahuman not too long ago and I don’t have a parahuman name yet, but you can call me Karamatsu,” he said. He wasn’t afraid to tell his real name to them. They were heroes and he trusted them. Besides, if everything went well, he would be their friend soon. “I can manipulate sounds,” he said.

Both Wards seemed a bit surprised as Karamatsu told his name to them, but then they nodded. “Your power sounds good,” Weld said.

“It is good,” Bastion commented. “We were just training so we got a better idea of it.”

“Good. So you are considering joining the Protectorate?” Weld asked.

“Yes,” Karamatsu said, nodding. “How have you two liked your time at the Wards?”

“Well, it’s rough at times, sometimes even rougher,” Weld said. Then he shrugged. “But this is the best place where a person like me could be. Our needs are taken care of and we get help and support when we need it,” he said and he turned to meet Armstrong’s eyes with a small smile.

The girl shrugged but her eyes were on her laptop again. “I get resources so this is good for me,” she said.

“Itakunai is a tinker, specializing on medical technology,” Armstrong said.

Karamatsu nodded and asked already another question: “How do you manage balancing this with your personal lives?”

“This is pretty much all I have so I don’t have that issue,” Weld said. “This is my home.”

Itakunai shrugged again. “I like it here ‘cause I can be at my workshop. But mom keeps asking me to spend more time at home. It’s mostly irritating. But when nothing too major is going on, we have time to go home if we want to,” she answered, her eyes barely leaving the screen.

“Boston isn’t any of the worst cities,” Bastion said. “If things are quiet, it’s often enough to work from six to ten hours per day. But everyone has to be always ready to come if something bad happens,” he said.

Karamatsu nodded. Six to ten hours without his brothers each day. It would be like a normal job. It wouldn’t be a problem if things were normal and his brothers would not be in the state they were. Although, they would get better soon. “ _ Hopefully.”  _ Karamatsu tried to shove the doubt at the back of his mind. He could help them the best by earning money.

“Director Armstrong,” Karamatsu said, turning to look at him. “I’d like to join the protectorate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! I hope you liked it!!
> 
> Sorry, but there's still two more chapters of Karamatsu before it's Choromatsu's turn. Be patient, please.
> 
> Seriously, I'm still so amazed how much this interests people. I would have never guessed.... 
> 
> Remember to give me fic suggestions and maybe your suggestion will win! Also, if you want to vote for a suggestion, I'll do the poll probably tomorrow in my twitter @dragonfruitkiss.
> 
> Thank you!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karamatsu meets the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!
> 
> I hope you're all doing fine. Karamatsu chapters are continuing. Nothing interesting happening here either.
> 
> Warning! There'll be a character that loves bad jokes so you need to endure through them whenever she's around now and in the future....
> 
> Betaread by Rustfeather!
> 
> Enjoy!

“Mom,” Karamatsu said, walking into the kitchen where their mother was cooking dinner.

“What is it?” Matsuyo asked, turning to look at her son.

Karamatsu swallowed and walked closer. After saying that he would join the protectorate, he had went back home, anxious to see his brothers. The next day he had returned and they had taken care of all the paperwork related to his joining. The contracts had been signed and it was official. He was the newest member of Boston Protectorate. “Mom, I got a job,” he said, his voice low and a bit unsure. He didn’t want his brothers to overhear him.

“What? Really?” Matsuyo asked, letting go of the frying pan and spatula, and fully faced the second born.

“Yes, mom. From now on I’ll be working for the PRT,” Karamatsu answered. He had been given a cover position that to the public and to his family he could say to be working in one of the storages when in reality he was Protectorate’s superhero.

Matsuyo frowned in concern. “Isn’t it risky?” she asked. “Can’t that be dangerous?”

“No, mom, don’t worry,” Karamatsu answered. “I’ll be only working at the storages and stocking, not as a trooper. It’ll be a simple job.”

Matsuyo visibly relaxed, then she started smiling fondly. “Karamatsu, I’m so proud of you! My son got a job! That makes me so happy!” she said and hugged Karamatsu. Karamatsu was worried that someone might hear her excited voice, so he used his powers to keep most of it in the kitchen.

Karamatsu returned the hug gladly. “I want to help you with the money. I want to help my brothers to get better,” he said.

Matsuyo pulled herself free from the hug, petted his hair fondly and smiled a little sadly. “You’re a really good older brother,” she said. “They need you.”

Karamatsu frowned. “But do you think they’ll be okay if I start going to work? They’d still have Osomatsu and they’re getting a bit better, right?” he asked, worrying if he had made a wrong decision.

“Of course. We’re helping them together and you’re already doing so much. I think it’s really important that you start that job. Promise me that you’ll do your best,” Matsuyo said, smiling fondly.

Karamatsu nodded, looking at her in the eyes. “I promise.”

“Have you told your brothers yet?” she asked.

“Not yet,” Karamatsu answered a bit nervously. “I’m planning to do that now. Do you think they’ll be okay with it?”

Matsuyo smiled at him. “Of course. They’re your brothers so of course they’ll support you,” she said.

Karamatsu nodded, feeling a bit better. He really hoped that his brothers would be okay with this. “Okay. Thanks,” he said and left the kitchen, heading towards their shared room. He walked into the room and saw that all of his brothers were there. Osomatsu was playing a board game with Jyushimatsu and Karamatsu was so happy and relieved to see that both of them were smiling. Osomatsu was smiling his lopsided smile and Jyushimatsu was smiling a wide smile, although it wasn’t nearly as big as it often was. Ichimatsu was leaning on the wall and following their game with a bored look, hugging his knees, but being careful with his injured leg. Todomatsu was sitting in a corner, staring intensely at his phone’s screen, tapping it every now and then. Karamatsu considered it as a good progress that he wasn’t just laying miserably on the futon like before. Choromatsu was sitting on the couch and watching news from the tv.

“Brothers,” Karamatsu said and Jyushimatsu, Osomatsu and Choromatsu turned to look at him. “I need to tell you something,” he said.

Osomatsu frowned, immediately concerned, and Choromatsu’s expression turned even more anxious and worried than it had been. Ichimatsu looked up at him as well, but Todomatsu was still too focused on his phone to notice or maybe he was ignoring Karamatsu on purpose.

Karamatsu swallowed uneasily. “I… I got a job,” he said a little timidly.

Osomatsu’s expression relaxed a bit, but then turned surprised. “You did?” he asked. Karamatsu nodded.

“That’s great, Karamatsu-niisan! Well done!” Jyushimatsu said, sounding sincerely happy for him.

“You’ll start working?” Choromatsu asked a bit confused.

“What?” Totty asked, suddenly looking up from his phone to his brothers. “What’s going on?”

“I got a job,” Karamatsu said again, smiling at the youngest.

“What job is it?” Osomatsu asked.

“I’ll start working for the PRT as a storage worker,” the second oldest answered.

That seemed to surprise everyone even more than Karamatsu had expected. Choromatsu gasped weirdly and paled. Osomatsu stared at Karamatsu in bewilderment, his eyes and mouth wide open. Jyushimatsu stared, his eyes tingling with excitement. Ichimatsu stared eyes wide and frozen. Even Todomatsu seemed startled for some reason.

“PRT?” Osomatsu asked unsure.

“Yes. They were willing to hire me and the pay is good for someone like me,” Karamatsu answered.

“That’s- that’s a really respected employer. It’ll be really good experience,” Choromatsu said, his voice a bit shaky as he stared at the floor, processing the information.

Karamatsu nodded. “I- I want to help and we need the money. Do you think you’ll be okay if I won’t be here all the time?” he asked, frowning in worry.

“We will,” Jyushimatsu said encouragingly.

“Honestly, I don’t think you could do much even if you were here,” Choromatsu said.

“Osomatsu?” Karamatsu asked, looking at his older brother.

Osomatsu was looking away, a deep frown on his face. As he lifted his gaze up to meet Karamatsu’s, he had plastered a grin on his face and he rubbed the underside of his broken nose. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be alright if you want to start working. You’ll still be living home and everything, right?”

“Yes, of course,” Karamatsu answered. He looked the oldest in the eyes meaningfully. “We need money for the hospital bills. There will be still more of those. I need to do this to help everyone,” he said confidently.

“But your job won’t include anything dangerous? You won’t have anything to do with capes?” Osomatsu asked. Something about his tone made Karamatsu’s stomach turn. Osomatsu wanted him to have nothing to do with parahumans. It was understandable after their kidnapping, but suddenly Karamatsu started to feel afraid of a new thing. Would his brothers accept him if they knew about his powers?

The second oldest shook his head. “No!” he said, letting out a small chuckle. “Of course they won’t let someone like me to work with the capes. That would require a long training. My job will be a normal, boring job.”

“Alright then,” Osomatsu said and glanced quickly at the others. “Money would be needed.”

Karamatsu smiled at the oldest. “I’ll work hard!”

Osomatsu smiled back at him. “I know you will.”

\---

Karamatsu swallowed nervously as he stepped inside the Protectorate heroes’ lobby with Armstrong. He was about to meet his new team. It was exciting and scary at the same time. He wanted to give them the best first impression possible, so he was wearing his blue suit with the same black mask as before. The chattering in the room stopped as soon as the door opened.

Six capes in full costumes turned their focus immediately on Karamatsu, who took a couple of careful steps into the room before stopping. He didn’t know what to say. He could only stare, amazed.

“Everyone, this is your newest teammate,” Armstrong said and turned to look at Karamatsu. “Let me introduce everyone to you. You know Bastion already,” he started, waving a hand at the leader of the hero team, who was standing arms crossed and nodded.

Karamatsu nodded as well. “Yes.”

“Then we have Sere here,” Armstrong said, extending his arm towards a man that was wearing a white, featureless mask with blue lenses and white robes with a fine patterning. 

The man nodded. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “My power is moisture manipulation.”

“On his right is Dovetail,” Armstrong said.

Dovetail was a woman in a high collared, silver-pinkish skin-tight costume. She raised up her other hand. “I’m Dovetail. I can fly and create soft forcefields behind me that fall to the ground and make it harder for people to move,” she said.

Armstrong nodded. “Then it’s Adamant.”

The man was big and wearing an armor, consisting of metallic panels that were loosely tied together with chains. Underneath the metal a black bodysuit was visible. “Pleasure to meet you,” he said, his voice deep and strong. “I have super strength and metal manipulation.” As to demonstrate his power, he moved the metal panels of his other hand and formed a small shield with them. “Like this. It’s only short range though and not very powerful.”

“I-it looks great!” Karamatsu managed to somehow stutter.

“The next one is Astrologer.”

The heroine nodded to him curtly. “Good to have you here. I can call projectiles from the sky,” she said. She was wearing a black and red, skin-tight costume, a black mask with some silver highlights and her long brown hair was tied into ponytail. “It’s unusual to have all of us gathered here, but we’re only here to meet you shortly. Then we’ll continue on with our duties.” 

“Yes, thank you. And finally this is Glee,” Armstrong said, referring to the last person not introduced.

“Hello,” the heroine said. Her costume was white with light blue highlights. She was wearing a helm, where his mask had been attached to, and she had light armor around his chest. “I can make people laugh hysterically,” she said, grinning. “It’s better power than you’d think. Try fighting properly when dying of laughter.”

Karamatsu nodded, smiling. “I see,” he said stared at the heroine for a few seconds.

Armstrong opened his mouth when Glee continued: “Oh, oh! Do you want to hear a rumor about butter??” she asked eyes shining. Before anyone could react, she continued: “Never mind, I shouldn’t spread it.” Glee grinned and started giggling.

Karamatsu blinked his eyes, not sure what to say.

“Glee, please,” Bastion said. “No one cares about your horrible jokes.”

She grinned at Bastion and turned to look at Karamatsu. “Don’t worry. You’ll get it later.”

“Ah, umm…” Karamatsu let out unsure. Then he blinked his eyes a few times as he realized that the room had fallen silent and everyone was looking at him expectedly. He turned to look at Armstrong. The man smiled at him encouragingly.

“Would you introduce yourself?” he asked.

“Ah,” Karamatsu said, nodding. He turned to face the six superheroes in front of himself and he bowed a polite, rather deep and respecting bow. “I’m Karamatsu. It’s an honor to meet you all and become your teammate,” he said and straightened his back. He was smiling nervously. “I can manipulate sounds.”

“Good to have you here,” Dovetail said. “Is Karamatsu your cape name or?” she asked.

“Oh no!” Karamatsu said, waving his hands a little. “It’s my actual name. I don’t have a cape name yet,” he said.

“Ah, okay. I’m not good at languages so I didn’t know,” the heroine answered, nodding.

“I haven’t heard about you before when Bastion told us about you,” Sere said. “Have you been maintaining a low profile or did you just arrive to the city?”

“I haven’t used my powers anywhere where someone might have noticed them and even at home I haven’t been able to use them a lot. But I just got my powers, so that is probably why you haven’t heard about me,” Karamatsu said.

The heroes nodded in understanding, then Astrologer started speaking: “Well, I think it will be a while until you’ll start going out. You need training and we need to learn to know your powers.”

“You also need a codename and a costume,” Glee said with a playful smile.

“Boston isn’t the worst of the cities, but it’s always good to have more people,” Adamant said. “We can protect the people better then.”

Karamatsu nodded. “That’s what I want to do. I want to protect people,” he said. No one should suffer what he had.

“We’re really glad you’re here,” Armstrong said, placing his hand on Karamatsu’s shoulder. “For now Karamatsu won’t be here full time. He has family issues so we’ll adjust his working time in a way that allows him to deal with his personal life the way he needs.”

“I hope those issues can be fixed. Distractions can be dangerous in a job like ours,” Sere said.

“So your powers,” Adamant started, “what can they be used for?”

“They’re good,” Bastion said. “I think he’s a pretty good blaster.”

Karamatsu frowned confused, but didn’t want to ask what the hero was talking about and look stupid. However, Armstrong didn’t miss his confused look.

“We have a classification system for powers. Blasters have ranged offensive powers that are most often damaging. Your attacks are ranged and can certainly do damage.”

“Ah, I see,” Karamatsu said. Blaster powers. He really should have paid more attention on parahuman issues, but all he had been interested was the glory and coolness of heroes. He knew that Choromatsu knew much more about things related to parahumans than he or anyone else in their family did. Maybe he could talk with him and get use of his knowledge? No, actually on a second thought that was a bad idea. The third born was super anxious and looked unstable. It would be best not to trigger him with a talk about parahumans when he had just gotten traumatized by them.

Bastion took a step closer to Karamatsu. “It’ll be crucial that you know and understand your teammates’ powers. You need to learn to trust in them. That’s something you need to do before you should go to real action or patrols,” he said.

There was knocking on the door and everybody turned to look there. “Ah! It should be the Ward team coming to do the introductions,” Armstrong said and went to the door. “Come in!” he said.

The door opened and six more parahumans flowed into the room. Karamatsu couldn’t help but stare his mouth slightly open. He was seriously intimidated by them even if he knew that some of them were as much as ten years younger than he was. But they all looked so confident and professional in their costumes as they formed a line, facing Karamatsu. Karamatsu looked at them fazinated. Their group was more diverse than the adult hero team.

“We met earlier,” Weld spoke, his metallic body easily drawing a lot of Karamatsu’s attention. “I’m our group leader as you know and this is my team. You met Itakunai as well,” he said, glancing at the girl.

She was wearing her visor but now she had her full costume on. It was skintight and white. She had long wine red gloves and boots as well as a wide belt with many pouches. The girl waved at Karamatsu.

Karamatsu nodded. “Yes. Nice to see both of you again.”

Weld nodded politely and turned the attention to the next Ward. He was a young boy, most likely pre-teen. However, his body was twisted unnaturally, making his appearance hunch backed. Karamatsu tried not to stare and was grateful for his mask. He knew this junior hero by the appearance but didn’t know anything else about him.

“This is Hunch,” Weld presented.

“Hi!” the boy said. He was wearing a silver colored helm, but his face was fully visible. Karamatsu supposed there was no point in trying to hide your identity when your appearance gave it out any way. He was wearing a loose black jacket with green highlights and similar kinds of pants.

“Ah, nice to meet you,” Karamatsu said. “Uh, I’m sorry, I don’t know your powers.”

“It’s precognition. Limited of course but still. I stay mostly here since I would be just in the way at the field,” he said.

“I see,” Karamatsu said. Precognitive powers really were something. He didn’t know if he would want them or if seeing parts of the future would be too scary and confusing.

“Then it’s Reynard,” Weld continued.

A teenage boy, wearing a fox mask that covered all of his face, lifted his hand up. His costume was reddish brown, made from something resembling leather and it had pieces of fur here and there. “Hi,” the boy greeted. “I’m a changer. I turn into a canine-like monster. I can control myself, but the appearance might be scary for those who don’t know me,” he said.

Karamatsu nodded again. “Nice to meet you Reynard.”

The boy nodded. “I look forward seeing your powers.”

“I’m Roulette,” a dark skinned girl said, taking a small step forward. She was wearing a skintight black and red costume with a similar mask. Half of her hair was braided in small braids while the other half was open. “I also have precognitive visions but different than Hunch’s. I see many mostly inaccurate visions at the same time and I can guide my actions with them. It works the best for a direct combat,” she said, her smile stretching into a grin.

“Good to meet you,” Karamatsu said.

“And then we have Hera,” Weld said, referring to the last one of their group. She was a tall teenage girl with a long, curly, dark hair and tan skin, judging by the glimpses Karamatsu could see. Her costume too was skintight with some extra shoulder armors. Her costume was cream colored with beautiful golden patterns, her mask matching it.

“Hello. I’m Hera and my power is telekinesis. Although it’s limited to lifeless objects,” she said and Karamatsu saw how a table on their side lifted up to the air before Hera lowered it back to the ground.

“Hello,” Karamatsu greeted back. “That’s impressive.” Then he let his gaze roam over all of them. “It’s a pleasure meeting all of you. I hope we’ll get along well,” he said.

“We’re looking forward working with you,” Weld replied politely.

“I’m sure you’ll get along just fine,” Armstrong said happily and turned to meet Karamatsu’s look. “I know this must be a lot to take in suddenly if you haven’t been so familiar with our capes before, but I hope you’ll do some research and reading about your new teammates if you have free time. Of course we’ll teach you everything we know, but it’s always easier if you read through some things on your own.” He looked at his watch, then turned to face all the heroes. “Thank you everyone for being here. You’ll be training with Karamatsu sometimes from now on and when he’s ready, we’ll present him to the public and he’ll join you on the field,” the director said. “I know many of you are busy, so you’re free to leave. Thank you for coming.” After he said that, most of the heroes started to flow out of the room.

Armstrong turned to face Karamatsu, who was looking after the heroes in wonder. “That went well,” he said friendly, placing a hand on Karamatsu’s shoulder. “Now follow me. I’ll show you your room,” he said and started walking towards a different door than where they had come which led into a corridor. Ahead of them they could see few of the heroes entering rooms.

“I’ll have a room?” Karamatsu asked. It sounded weird. Wasn’t it too much for him? He had never had a room of his own and he had managed fine.

“Yes,” Armstrong answered. “We provide a room for all of our heroes. It’s up to you how much you’ll use it.” With a keycard he opened a door and stepped inside, Karamatsu following after him.

It was a small and simple room with a bed, a wardrobe, a desk and a chair. Karamatsu looked around eyes wide. He turned to look at the director. “This is for me?”

Armstrong chuckled. “Yes, it’s for you. We’ll get here a computer that you can use as well. You’re free to decorate it however you want and bring your belongings here if you want. Most heroes keep some clothes in their rooms. Rooms are often used when they want to relax or concentrate without being interrupted. Some heroes even live here permanently if they don’t have anywhere else to go. Also, heroes might often have a few hours of free time before they have something else to do so that time isn’t always enough to go home.”

Karamatsu nodded in his thoughts. “I understand. And I really appreciate this,” he said. He finally had a place that he could decorate. It would be so much fun. His mind was already giving him many ideas of what he could do with the room. Oh, he would enjoy this. 

\---

Karamatsu looked at the door in front of himself, then again at a note on his phone. His instructions matched to the room number and to the name plate at the door. It said: “Jessica Yamada”.

Taking a deep, relaxing breath, he put his phone into his blue sport jacket’s pocket and scratched his head behind the rubber band of his mask that was now much more beautiful even if Karamatsu said so himself. He had painted the black, plain mask blue and covered it with blue glitter. The edges of the mask he had lined with silver sequins. Only the eyes were still black. He was really proud of his work. It was much more personal now, but maybe he could still add something more to it.

Karamatsu knocked on the door with his knuckles and after a heartbeat he heard a pleasant woman’s voice call him in. He opened the door and bowed his head slightly as he saw the woman, maybe on her thirties or forties, sitting in an armchair and smiling at him kindly. “Thank you for seeing me,” Karamatsu said as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind himself.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” the lady said, standing up and extended her hand towards Karamatsu, who shook it. “I’m Jessica Yamada. I’m working as a parahuman psychologist here at the PRT, mostly working in Boston, but also in other nearby cities. Please take a seat,” she said and waved her hand towards the other armchair. Karamatsu sat in it, feeling a bit tense. Jessica kept her focus on him, studying him with an observing look. “At first I need to ask your name. In my papers I saw that you don’t have a codename yet, but I need to be able to call you something. I try to encourage parahumans to use their real names, but I fully understand if you want to protect your identity.”

Karamatsu frowned behind his mask. “But you’d keep it a secret, right?” He didn’t have a name yet, but he didn’t have anything against using his real name as long as he knew that it would stay confidential.

The lady nodded. “Yes. This is a safe space for you to talk. All sensitive information I’ll keep to myself unless it’s somehow very crucial for the Protectorate to know. But your identity is safe with me.” She smiled.

Karamatsu nodded and took off his mask carefully. He still wasn’t used to wearing it and he trusted in this woman. “I’m Karamatsu,” he said and returned the smile.

“Nice to meet you Karamatsu,” Jessica said. “Do you know why you’re here today?” she asked.

“Uhh, you want to check my mental state?” he answered little unsure.

“I suppose that’s one way to say it,” Jessica answered, the friendly smile never leaving her face. “We’ll have a short discussion and I’ll give the protectorate a report of it. The goal is to see how you’re doing. I heard that you had your trigger event just now. I guess that there’s a lot on your mind right now.”

Karamatsu nodded. “Yes,” he simply said and swallowed.

“Alright, let’s start with a simple question. How are you?” the woman asked.

Karamatsu shrugged. For a few seconds he thought of what he should say, but in the end he answered: “I’m fine.”

Jessica raised up her eyebrow. “Karamatsu, I understand if you don’t trust me enough to reveal much about yourself to me, but I really recommend you to allow yourself to talk. It might lighten your burden.”

Karamatsu knew that. The woman was a professional and talking to a psychologist was something he actually needed. He just hoped his brothers would have the opportunity as well. He sighed and averted his eyes. “I don’t know where to start.”

“Would you like to tell me a little about yourself?” Jessica asked friendly.

“Sure,” Karamatsu said. “I moved to America after the fall of Japan with my family. I have mom, dad and five brothers. I love them more than anything in the world.”

“That’s great,” Jessica said. “Do you all live in Boston?” she asked.

Karamatsu nodded. “Yes.” He swallowed and bit his lip. “I’m scared that I’ll somehow get them mixed up in this whole parahuman thing. It’s safest for them if they never find out about my powers,” he said.

Jessica hummed in understanding. “I see. That can of course be very worrying. But have you thought about it differently? Maybe it would be much better to just tell them. I think you shouldn’t be scared to tell them about this new side of you. It might help you a lot if you had your family’s support behind you and you could talk to them about these things?”

Karamatsu shook his head, closing his eyes for a few seconds before looking back at the psychologist. “I can’t. I’d love to, but I can’t. It would mean so much to me. I hate keeping these kind of things secret and lying to them, but there’s no way I could let them know. I need to keep them safe and I’d feel guilty, knowing that they worried about me.” He ignored the voice in the back of his head saying that they wouldn’t worry for him. Sometimes he wasn’t sure if they cared. “They can’t be part of my parahuman life. For their own safety, it has to be like that,” he ended.

Jessica nodded. “I understand the way you think. But of course if you ever change your mind, it’s never too late to tell them,” she said.

Karamatsu nodded, smiling. “That’s true,” he said, although he knew that his decision was final.

“I’m sorry for changing the subject for something heavier, but I need to ask you, are you okay?” Jessica asked with a slight frown. “Your trigger event was just recently and I’d like to know how have you recovered from it? You don’t need to talk about it, but I’m here to help.”

The subject made Karamatsu feel uncomfortable and he looked away. “I’m fine… It’s just-” He didn’t want to tell about his brothers being a part of his trigger event. He didn’t want there to be any risk that someone might make the connection that it was them, who had escaped from The Teeth. He also for some reason didn’t want the Protectorate to know that his brothers too had had troubles with the villain team. He wanted as little attention paid to them as possible. “It’s just really recent and I’m scared that it could happen again,” he ended.

“It’s an understandable fear,” Jessica said. “I heard you had some sort of trouble with The Teeth?” she asked.

Karamatsu nodded, swallowing. He didn’t look the woman in the eyes. “They- they tortured me, but somehow I got away,” he said and turned to look at Jessica, frowning. “I’m so scared that they might come for me again and that my family gets hurt.” “ _ Again,”  _ he added in his mind.

“I see,” Jessica said. “Would you like to tell me more about what happened? It might be painful but help,” she offered.

Karamatsu shook his head. It hurt too much and it would have been nearly impossible without revealing his brothers’ part in it.

“Alright. That’s okay,” Jessica said understandingly. “Would you then tell me about why you decided to become a hero? You made the decision really quickly.”

Karamatsu smiled a little. Somehow this topic made him feel better quickly. “I don’t know why, but I have these powers now,” he started, pressing his hand dramatically on his chest. “It’s my duty to use them for good! How could I sleep at nights while bad things happen if I have the power to save people? Heroism is a call and a humble man like me have no choice but to follow his heart and do what’s right.”

Jesseca smiled at him a little amused, but there was nothing mocking in her expression. “That’s great. But Karamatsu, do you understand the danger you’re putting yourself into?” she asked.

“I know there are risks, but I’ll have a good team and I’ll receive training, so I should be alright,” Karamatsu said. “I can now protect myself.” He stared at his hand and closed it. Which was even more important was that now he could protect his family if someone ever tried to hurt them again. He’d just had to train. “I want people to be able to look at me and feel safe.”

“Sounds like you care about other people a lot. That’s really important, but remember that what you want is important too,” Jessica said. “What  _ do _ you want? Do you have dreams or goals of some sort?”

Karamatsu hold his chin with his fingers as he thought for an answer. His smile widened as he snapped his fingers and crossed his legs dramatically. “Heh! World peace is what I want,” he announced.

If Jessica was surprised by Karamatsu’s behaviour, she didn’t let it show. “That is good, but is there something that’s a little easier to achieve that you want?” she asked.

Karamatsu closed his eyes and pressed both of his hands over his heart. “As long as I can keep my family safe and happy, I need nothing more. They’re my everything.” He opened his eyes and flipped his bangs. “If I could ask for something else, that would be attention,” he said.

“You want attention?” Jessica asked.

Karamatsu cast his eyes to the ceiling, leaning back on his chair. “In my family it isn’t always given that I get attention. Sometimes I need to do a lot to be even noticed. I want to be seen and heard. Heh, that last one shouldn’t be a problem anymore,” he chuckled.

“I see,” Jessica said understandingly. She had a short pause. “Are things alright with your family?” she asked with a slight frown.

The excited twinkle left Karamatsu’s eyes and his posture slumped. He averted his eyes and bit his cheek as the pain returned. “No, not really,” he said quietly.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jessica said, her voice sincere. “Do you want to talk about it?” she offered.

Karamatsu shook his head, still not meeting her eyes. He should return home. His brothers were hurting and he should be there to support them. “No, it’s- it’s going to be alright,” he said and finally lift up his gaze. “I’m sorry, is this going to take much longer? I should actually return home soon.”

Jessica smiled at him kindly. “We can stop here if you want. But I want to see you again within the next few weeks. I want to get to know you, Karamatsu,” she said.

Karamatsu stood up and nodded to her. “Sounds good. Thank you, miss Yamada.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> So the next chapter will be last Kara chapter for now and I promise, it'll be funnier because he'll be planning his costume.
> 
> See you later!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karamatsu wants more sparkle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!
> 
> How are you? I hope good!  
This is the last update for this year. This is also probably the first chapter with some comedy in it. I hope you'll find this fun...  
Beta read by Rustfeather.
> 
> Enjoy!

It had already been a few days since Karamatsu had joined the Protectorate. Everything was really exciting and he enjoyed his new life so far, but he was still distracted because of his brothers. He had only been able to stay short times, just a couple of hours at a time, at the PRT building before he had become too anxious and he had just had to return to home for his brothers. Even if it had been only a few days, he had still already skipped one day completely as Osomatsu had said that he might be out a little longer.

However, now things seemed a little better. Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu had started to go outside again. Even Todomatsu, who had been just laying around apathetically, seemed to be much more active now. He hadn’t yet really left the house, but his eyes had their sparkle back and he was much more present even if he spent most of his time on his phone, which actually wasn’t anything out of ordinary.

But Choromatsu… he seemed just as anxious and jumpy as before. It hadn’t been even two weeks so Karamatsu supposed he should give him time and not get too worried yet. He couldn’t help it though. The third brother looked so pitiful. Karamatsu had decided that when he got his first pay, it would definitely go entirely to help his brothers.

Right now Karamatsu was on his way to meet with a couple of people from the public relations department, who were supposed to help him with the image that they would create to him. Karamatsu would lie if he said that he wasn’t excited. He believed that with his colorful, charming personality his hero image would be fabulous at the very least. This was something he had always wanted. He had wanted to be popular. Now it might be possible.

As soon as Karamatsu opened a door carefully into a room where he had been instructed to go, a young man stood up and walked over to him.

“Karamatsu! I’ve been waiting for you!” he said, taking a hold of the door to open it wider and he pulled Karamatsu inside from his arm. “I’m Emil Holmberg,” he said, smiling excitedly. The man seemed to be around thirty years old. He was a little taller than Karamatsu, his blond hair was short buzz cut and he had a small neatly cut beard. He was wearing a dress shirt and jeans. “I’ll be your number one consultant on things related to publicity, image and so on. I’m really excited to get to know you and I really hope we get along well,” he finished and gave Karamatsu a chance to speak.

Karamatsu was a little surprised of the man’s enthusiasm, but then his own excitement only grew. He smiled wide as he answered. “I’m sure we will. I’m looking forward to working with you,” he said.

“Great!” Emil said, waved towards a smaller, glass office and started walking towards there, Karamatsu following right behind. They entered the office and Emil closed the door. “We have a lot to do,” the man said as he seated himself in an armchair.

Karamatsu seated himself in another one and smiled at the man with a hint of hesitance this time. “Um, I don’t know if anyone told you, but I can’t stay for too many hours before I have to return to home again,” he said.

Emil nodded. “I do know that. Don’t worry, it’s fine. Building your image will need a lot of time anyways if we want to do it carefully and properly. Then we’ll both just have more time to plan things by ourselves,” he said. “But we have no time to waste! Best to start now.”

The man pushed a button on a desk and suddenly the glass walls changed so that they no longer were transparent. Karamatsu stared at the different looking walls and then turned to look back at Emil. The man was smiling at him, holding a notebook on his lap. “I don’t want to pressure you into anything, but if you feel comfortable with it, I’d like to see your face. I feel like I’ll learn to know you better when I can see your reactions and eyes,” he said.

“Ah,” Karamatsu let out and nodded, taking off his decorated mask. He blinked his eyes a few times as his eyes adjusted to the light of the room. His eyes met with Emil’s, who was staring at him with an observant, thoughtful stare.

“Tell me, Karamatsu, why do you want to be a hero?”

“I want to help other people. Since I got these powers I have to use them for good,” Karamatsu answered.

Emil nodded. “I’ve seen a video feed of your powers. I like them. What do you think about them?”

“I think that even if they don’t look like much at first, they’re really useful. I think I like them too.”

“Good, good,” Emil said. “Now tell me what’s important in life to you. What kind of values do you have?”

“Well, family is the most important thing in my life,” Karamatsu answered.

“That’s great, but I want something else. What are the things that you love and enjoy? What do you want to achieve?” Emil said, pointing a pen at Karamatsu.

“Umm, I love music. My dream is to become popular, to get some spotlight to myself. If I’m being completely honest, I crave for attention,” Karamatsu said. With five brothers it was so hard to get attention and he had to fight for it. Unfortunately for him because of his so-called painfulness, his brothers tended to ignore him. It hurt but he had grown to accept it. Still he would give a lot to actually be the cool guy that he was in his fantasies.

“Great! This is great,” Emil said, smiling. “Don’t worry my friend, you’ll get attention for sure.” He flashed him a grin. “So you’re musical?”

“Yes,” Karamatsu answered. “I enjoy singing and playing guitar.”

“That is something we can use for your theme if you like it, music I mean. We’ll start planning with your costume and think for possible ideas for your cape name at the same time.” Emil clapped his hands together. “Yes! We’ll think of a way to make just one glance at your hero persona tell that your power is sound. Your appearance also has to speak about your personality. I can sense you’re a colorful person, Karamatsu. I like that. Now put on your mask,” he said.

It took a second for Karamatsu to register what he was told to do, but then he put on his mask. Emil opened the office’s door and called for someone to come in. A young woman entered the office, greeting Karamatsu. She asked him to stand up and started to take his measurements. Karamatsu was really excited and he had a hard time trying to contain his smile.

Emil’s smile widened as well as he looked at Karamatsu. “You’re literally glowing,” he said and chuckled.

“Huh?” Karamatsu sounded and looked at his hand. True enough, his skin was glowing more than its usual nearly nonexistent glow. Now it was actually noticeable even if the office was well lit. Karamatsu looked at the man. “It’s usually much dimmer,” he said and consciously turned the glow down until it was dim enough to go unnoticed.

Emil looked at him again in his thoughts. “Blue is your color, I believe?” he asked.

Karamatsu nodded, his smile widening as he thought about his brothers and their respective colors. “Yes, very much. My costume has to be blue,” he said.

“Understood,” Emil said and wrote something down to his notebook. “Now, we’ll have a lot of planning to do.”

\---

Karamatsu was returning home after another visit to the PRT building. He had started his training now and it was really nice because he had got to talk more with some of his teammates. Slowly, as he got to know them, they were becoming to feel like more and more like normal humans to him. It was like when you meet your idol in real life and realize that they are not so different from you in the end. Karamatsu was still a bit reserved around them because they were still celebrities and so powerful and cool and he was just a simple, guilty guy. But he believed that there was a chance that he would actually get new friends from some of them.

Karamatsu looked down at his hand to check his glowing. Lately he had been glowing noticeably brighter than before. He was starting to make connection between his emotions and the glowing. Now that things had gotten a little better at home and he had gotten more excited about his hero career, his glowing seemed to get brighter easier especially if he got excited about something. Luckily it didn’t happen at home because of the gloomy atmosphere that still lingered there.

No, Karamatsu noted that he wasn’t glowing right now so brightly that it could be noticed. But instead he realized that he was carrying a lot of glitter on his sleeves and hands. He had started decorating his room and it needed a lot of glitter. He tried to dust the glitter off, but stubbornly most of it stayed on.

Karamatsu took a glance at the shoes next to the front door and he noticed that Choromatsu was the only one home. A part of Karamatsu was happy that his brothers were up and recovering, although he couldn’t help but worry about how Todomatsu would manage with his healing fingers or if Ichimatsu would upset his leg, but he was also increasingly worried about poor Choromatsu. It wouldn’t be good for him to be alone at home.

Walking further into the apartment, Karamatsu noticed that the door to their room was closed. The door was mostly kept open since with the six of them living in the same room there was no hope of privacy anyways. Karamatsu wondered if maybe the third brother was sleeping, but he decided he should still check on him.

Karamatsu knocked on the door three times and was startled as he heard a thump and a quiet, surprised whine, items scattering to the floor and other clattering noises. His eyebrows shot up in worry and slight alarm. “Choromatsu?” he said and tried to open the door only to notice that he couldn’t. The door handle did move down, but the door didn’t budge.

“Choromatsu? Are you there?” Karamatsu asked a little louder. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah. Just a second,” the third oldest answered to him, his voice shaky and scared.

Karamatsu frowned, worried. He didn’t like this one bit. He tried to calm himself down with the thought that if Choromatsu didn’t open soon, he could use his powers to break down the door. “Alright. You got thirty seconds,” he said. He couldn’t help being paranoid that maybe a member of The Teeth had broken in and Choromatsu was in danger. Then again, considering what had happened, maybe it wasn’t so paranoid thought.

Choromatsu opened the door. He looked startled and Karamatsu could hear his faster than normal breathing. He met Karamatsu’s eyes with his widened ones, the look in them scared and nervous. Dark circles around his eyes from the badly slept nights only added to the effect.

Karamatsu looked behind him, checking if he could find anything out of the ordinary in the room. Apart from a few books and some other stuff that had fallen to the ground from the bookshelf, everything looked normal. Karamatsu looked again at Choromatsu, who was still staring at him with that startled look. “Choromatsu, is everything okay?” he asked.

That seemed to startle the younger brother out of his thoughts and he tensed up even more. “Yes! Yes, I’m fine!” he said too quickly and turned around, going to pick up the books.

Karamatsu’s frown deepened as he walked into the room after him. “Brother, you do know that you can talk to me about everything. I share the same trauma with you. Would you like to talk about it? It might help a little,” he said.

Choromatsu glanced at him, averted his eyes and shook his head. “No. Thanks, but no. I don’t want to talk about it,” he said.

“Alright,” Karamatsu said a little disappointedly. “When I get my pay, I’d like to pay for your therapy if you’d like to try it,” he said. Maybe he’d rather talk with a professional.

Choromatsu turned to look at him again. “I- I don’t know. Maybe? But I think there’s more important things to use your money on,” he answered.

“There isn’t. Really,” Karamatsu said. “My brothers’ well being is my main concern and I don’t think you’re doing so well.”

Choromatsu shrugged and avoided his eyes. “I just need time,” he said as he sat down on the couch, turning on the tv.

\---

“Blue Glorious Wave,” Karamatsu said.

Emil and two other public relation workers looked at him with weird, nearly disgusted looks. “Umm, no. How about we keep thinking about your cape name. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at the ideas me and our costume team have come up with,” Emil said.

Karamatsu frowned slightly but nodded. “Alright,” he said.

“Okay, this is the first sketch,” Emil said and gave Karamatsu a paper. There was a picture of a skintight costume, colored light blue with white irregular zigzagging lines. The boots and helm were black.

Karamatsu put down the paper, frowning. He wasn’t happy with it. “I don’t really know… It’s too ordinary. Too boring,” he said.

Emil nodded. “Alright. How about this,” he said, giving another sketch to him.

Karamatsu looked at it and frowned. It was a dark blue suit and pants, decorated with few thin lines of blue sequins. The mask was white, lined with silver sequins. Karamatsu grimaced a little. “I don’t want a suit. It has to be something extraordinary. Something flashy,” he said. “I like deep blue the best, just like this hoodie. I want sequins and rhinestones and glitter. I want to capture everyone’s eyes,” Karamatsu explained enthusiastically.

A middle aged woman raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him. “You want to capture people’s eyes or blind them?”

“It’ll be great!” Karamatsu argued. He knew it would, the others had to just believe in him. He noticed how his hands were glowing brighter at the thought.

“Well then,” Emil said, taking the sketches back from Karamatsu and wiping off scattered glitter from them. “I suppose I don’t even need to show you the rest of the ideas. They wouldn’t be enough for you.” After a short pause, he continued: “But I don’t know how flashy we can make it without going overboard.”

“I’d also like if music or sound was somehow more presented in my costume. For example headphones or something would be nice,” Karamatsu said.

Emil’s eyes lit up slightly and he made a note. “Alright, we’ll keep that in mind. So with the next plans, we’ll use more glitter and all that,” he said, his eyes travelling to the pieces of glitter that were scattered everywhere from Karamatsu’s clothes and mask.

“That would be great,” Karamatsu agreed happily.

“Alright,” Emil said, standing up. “See you next time.”

Karamatsu said his thanks and left the office. He made his way to his Protectorate room and sat down on his desk. He took out another sheet of paper and a blue pen as he started planning his costume. His desk was covered with colorful pens, paint, glitter, rhinestones and so on. These public relations people hadn’t yet understood that his personality shone the best when he had extraordinary, shiny clothes too.

\---

During one evening Osomatsu was the last one of the brothers to return home. He appeared to their room, holding two six-packs of beer. He set them down on the table and rubbed the underside of his nose, grinning. “I brought us beer!” he announced.

Karamatsu turned to look at him. After their kidnapping the oldest had spent a lot of time outside by himself and it had become quite common for him to bring things home for the rest of them, such as beer, snacks and other things he believed that they’d enjoy. Karamatsu, and most likely all of them, could see through his actions and knew that the oldest did what little he could to cheer them up and try to make it up to them. Karamatsu knew that he felt guilty and since Osomatsu wasn’t the best in expressing his feelings to others, this was the way he was trying to help his brothers.

The oldest gave everyone a can of beer and opened his, sitting down on the floor. The others followed his example more or less eagerly.

“Todomatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu,” Karamatsu started, getting their attention. “Has any of you taken painkillers? You shouldn’t drink if you have,” he said worriedly.

All the three of them shook their heads and started drinking. Karamatsu looked at them for a moment longer before he allowed himself to relax a little as well.

“Hey, Jyushimatsu, have you started playing baseball again?” Osomatsu asked. “I saw that your bat was missing when I left the house earlier.”

The second youngest nodded his head eagerly. “Yes! It’s great. Do you want to come someday?” he asked.

Osomatsu grinned. “Well, I don’t know. Maybe someday.”

“Would you like to watch a movie?” Karamatsu asked from everyone. They were all there and it was a nice, calm evening. He felt so relieved that things were slowly returning to normal. He got agreeing murmurs as an answer and so they started watching a movie. In the middle of it Karamatsu however realized that most of them seemed to be in their own thoughts, just like he was himself. He couldn’t entirely focus on the film when his mind was working hard, thinking about his hero costume, name and a future career.

\---

“No. Couldn’t the whole costume be made from sequin canvas?” Karamatsu asked as he was having yet another costume meeting. He still wasn’t happy with the ideas, but they were slowly getting closer.

Emil nodded, frowning. “We can try that,” he said, sounding unwilling.

“I’ve been thinking about this as well,” said a young man around Karamatsu’s age, who he hadn’t seen before. He was wearing a band t-shirt and jeans and his hair was dyed red. “I like your ideas,” he said to Karamatsu. “I think it’ll be great, but listen to this. I like the idea of your headphones slash visor, but how about it if the visor would lit up with a blue light?” he presented his idea to Karamatsu.

Karamatsu’s eyes widened in fascination. “Yes!” he said. “I’d also want something painted to the headphones.”

The man looked at him thoughtfully. “Something… How about something like red roses? They would stand out nicely from your blue costume.”

“Yes!” Karamatsu agreed, nodding his head eagerly, glitter scattering to the floor.

“Umm, Derek,” Emil said to the man. “We’re still  _ trying _ to keep this stylish,” he said.

The man, Derek, turned to grin at Emil. “I’m just helping him with some ideas,” he said innocently and turned back to Karamatsu. “I’m also thinking something like wings attached to them could look cool,” he suggested.

“Yes!!” Karamatsu said, his voice getting more and more high-pitched and excited. His skin was glowing seriously now.

“Please, don’t encourage him like this,” a girl from the costume team said, turning up her nose on the mere idea of the costume.

“Also fringes might be good…” Derek continued.

Karamatsu stared at the young man in fascination. “You have such an eye for fashion,” he said, awed.

“You’re doing this on purpose,” the same girl muttered to Derek, who paid no attention to her as he fed yet another idea to Karamatsu.

The middle aged woman, who had been present in all of Karamatsu’s costume meetings, rubbed her temple. “He’s going to look horrible,” she stated, sounding resigned.

Emil sighed. “Yes, I’ve started to believe we can’t avoid that,” he said tiredly.

“And you should really show some more of your magnificent, glowing skin!” Derek went on, Karamatsu agreeing excitedly with everything he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!
> 
> Kara's costume will be really flashy. Next chapter will be Choromatsu!
> 
> Happy holidays!! <3 Thanks for this year! It's been amazing!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choromatsu struggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Happy new year everyone!! 
> 
> Finally we get to move to the next brother, so it's Choro's turn.
> 
> One note, time doesn't go linearly forward between the chapters. This chapter is set about from two weeks after the trigger to four weeks after it. But some of the following chapters will be set somewhere in that time, not after four weeks, like next kara chapter will be continuing pretty much where we left him. I hope someone understands my bad explanation xD
> 
> Anyways, let's see what Choro has been up to besides being anxious. Rustfeather beta read this for me, thanks!!
> 
> Enjoy!!

Choromatsu woke up with a jolt. He looked around in the dim room and tried to calm his racing heart as he reassured himself that it had been just a dream. Everything was fine. He was fine and they were safe.

But he was not fine.

He crawled away from the futon and tiptoed to the kitchen to get some water. He had been sweating in his sleep and he was feeling hot and thirsty. He filled up a glass and downed it in one go. Then he leaned to the counter with a sigh.

It had been nearly two weeks since their kidnapping, since all of them had nearly died - and since he had gotten superpowers. The third oldest was stronger than ever, yet he was more scared than ever before. He didn’t know what to think. He was an anxious mess.

Every single day Choromatsu had been repeating the events in his head. Seeing the gun pointed to Totty’s head, being taken into that building, his brothers being hurt and tortured and some of them being taken elsewhere, so that he couldn’t even know whether they had been dead or alive. He had had a panic attack or multiple, he wasn’t sure. He felt bad about it, being in that state himself where a lot of his concentration had went to focusing on breathing so that he didn’t pass out. He had been so helpless and his brothers had been suffering even more right before his eyes. He had surrendered to his faith because honestly what chances could they have had against a vicious villain team with capes? No one had been even holding him down and he had still been unable to get up and help his brothers. That was until Osomatsu had shouted to him.

The oldest’s shout had snapped him out of it. Osomatsu had told him what to do. He had had to force himself to move because if he hadn’t, he could have never forgiven himself. No matter how terrified he had been, no matter that he had felt like the world had been spinning and he couldn’t breath, he had ran to where Jyushimatsu had been taken.

Choromatsu hadn’t gotten too far before one of the gang members had jumped on him, tripping him. Two men had come after him and they had picked him up from the floor and slammed him to the wall, then they had started kicking him so hard that his rib had been broken.

Choromatsu shuddered, filled up his glass again and took a seat at the table. He rubbed his face with his palms and could feel the aching of his side. The beating had continued for what felt like forever, but then things had gotten even worse. His memories were a bit hazy, probably because of the concussion. He remembered a blood chilling scream, then how the building had started to rumble. He had been on the floor on all fours, heaving in pained breaths and tasting blood in his mouth when he had heard the two men shout in alarm and ran away. Choromatsu had looked up and seen how the entire wall was about to fall on him.

Choromatsu wasn’t sure what had happened, but the next thing he knew was that he had been shaking on the ground, gasping erratic breaths. If possible, he had gotten even more afraid when he had seen a green, transparent, slightly glowing force field around him. Pieces of the wall had been sliding to the ground against it. Choromatsu had let out a scared shout as he had stood up in panic and the force field had vanished. Only then the shock had really hit him. He had created that forcefield.

He had gotten powers. He had become a parahuman.

Choromatsu had been so shocked that he had just stopped functioning, unable to do anything. He remembered that he had crouched down, breathing hard and holding his head between his hands. Then Jyushimatsu had appeared there, hauled him to his feet and started to pull him after himself as he had led them back to the rest of the brothers. Choromatsu wasn’t sure what had been said then, he had only been able to think about two things - they had to get away and he had gotten powers.

Suddenly everything in his life had turned upside down and it was all wrong.

Choromatsu took another sip of the water and bit his nails. He didn’t want powers. He shouldn’t have powers! It was all wrong and now he had no fucking idea what he should do. As if it hadn’t been enough to put him on the edge of a mental breakdown because he and his brothers had been kidnapped and nearly killed. But no! He had also gotten powers.

Someone might have been excited about getting powers, but now that Choromatsu was in that situation, he thought that anyone who was excited about it was an idiot. Now he was feeling this huge weight on his shoulders. He had to decide what to do. He could feel his sense of responsibility telling him that he should give his powers to the use of the Protectorate. It was the best thing he could do if he wanted to be a good citizen. But he didn’t know if he could do that. It was too risky.

A large part of him just wanted to hide, never use his powers and keep his existence a secret. Capes had awfully short life expectancy. He would be only putting himself at risk if he joined the Protectorate or any other hero group. Also, who was to tell for sure that someone wouldn’t get to know his identity, find his family and use them against him. Acting as a hero might put them at risk.

Choromatsu could only be grateful that he wasn’t a tinker. Tinkers, heroes capable of creating high tech stuff, were recruited very quickly because everyone wanted better equipment than the others or at least wanted to prevent the others from getting them. Some villain teams forced other parahumans to join them. That’s why Choromatsu was glad that his force fields weren’t anything too special as far as the powers went.

He knew that he had those two options - to live like nothing had happened and never to use his powers or he could join the Protectorate. He’d never become a solo hero because then he would be fated to die very quickly or be recruited by force by some villains. That was absolutely out of the question.

Choromatsu hated this. He hated that he was in front of this decision that he couldn’t make. He was having trouble sleeping, he didn’t have an appetite and he was feeling miserable. He couldn’t focus on anything as he was just constantly thinking about his stupid powers and it had been going on for two weeks now. The whole kidnapping thing had also left him super jumpy. He knew that his brothers were worried for him, but right now he didn’t have the power to pretend everything was okay.

Only a mere week after Choromatsu had received powers, Karamatsu had one day announced that he had gotten a job from the PRT. Choromatsu could swore that his heart had stopped for a second. How could it have been even possible for such a coincidence to happen that Karamatsu had been hired to the biggest organization dealing with parahumans. Why there? Couldn’t it have been anywhere else? Choromatsu had had no idea what to say, he had just wanted to know that Karamatsu wouldn’t actually be directly working with heroes and that he’d be safe. But maybe the second oldest’s willingness to work for the PRT had affected Choromatsu’s thoughts a little. Choromatsu actually had a chance to make a difference, to protect other people, but he still didn’t know if it was the right choice for him. He couldn’t make the most selfless decision just like that if it meant putting himself and his family possibly in danger.

Sighing deeply, Choromatsu laid his head down on the surface of the table. He didn’t know what to do and he felt so lost. He just couldn’t decide anything and the weight of the secret was eating him inside out.

\---

Choromatsu was sitting on the couch, hugging his knees with one arm. He was staring blankly at the floor in his thoughts. Todomatsu was laying on the floor, reading something intensely on his phone. Where the rest of the brothers were, Choromatsu didn’t know.

The third oldest had noticed how everyone else seemed to be doing better. All the five of them were now going outside like things were normal. Todomatsu was still spending more time at home than normally, but he seemed to be doing alright, so Choromatsu was pretty sure that when his fingers would be healed, he would be working and going out normally.

Choromatsu was sure that all of them would be traumatized for life. Heck, he was sure of it, but this was a welcome proof that they could get over it, even this quickly. Maybe he too would already be getting back to his feet if he hadn’t gotten these powers?

“Hey, Choromatsu!”

The third oldest jumped slightly and turned to look towards the doorway where Osomatsu was making his way towards him to the couch. The oldest slumped down next to him, grinning. “I got you something,” he said and took out a rolled magazine from his front pocket.

Choromatsu blinked, surprised, and took the offered magazine. It was a hero magazine, telling all the juicy gossip of the country’s most powerful and often most famous people. He had always liked these magazines, following pretty heroines’ careers. And it wasn’t only fanning over cute girls or beautiful women, but he was genuinely interested in parahumans and powers. They were such a huge deal in today’s world and he wanted to know what was going on. But now Choromatsu didn’t know whether he was excited or disgusted.

He forced a little strained smile on his face as he looked up at Osomatsu. “Thank you, Osomatsu,” he said. He knew that he was meaning well. How could the oldest know what he was struggling with and that things related to powers or parahumans made him even more anxious. He couldn’t possibly know what it felt like to suddenly gain powers.

“No problem,” Osomatsu said, grinning. He stepped over to Todomatsu and kneeled down next to him and started talking with him.

Choromatsu moved his eyes back to the magazine on his hand. Well, he could as well read it. Now more than ever he should know everything about parahumans, especially the ones in the nearby area.

\---

Choromatsu was pacing around their room restlessly. He was the only one at home all of his brothers being out. His thoughts and worries were driving him crazy. He was seriously thinking of joining the Protectorate just so that he could talk to someone and relieve even a tiny portion of his stress.

He still hated having powers. Fine, he admitted that they were super cool, but he hadn’t asked for them. Okay, maybe it had been his dream like everybody’s at least at some point in his life, but now he knew that he definitely didn’t want them. The only good thing about his powers was that without them he would have most likely died. Also, if someone tried to hurt them again, he might have a chance to protect them.

Choromatsu shook his head as he thought of what would happen if he revealed his powers to his brothers. They would be so excited but also super jealous and it would be just a big mess. They could only see the cool side of things, not understanding the responsibility that came with them. He also knew that they would spill out his secret before long.

A sudden knock on the door made Choromatsu nearly jump out of his skin and he knocked down some books from the bookshelf as he bumped into it. In a second a force field, glowing dim green light, had appeared to block the doorway. The field had darker green, vein like patterns and the light changed from a little dimmer to brighter constantly. Just with the power of his mind, not even concentrating in doing it, Choromatsu had done something that shouldn’t have been possible in the first place.

Seeing the force field and realizing how screwed he would have been if someone had been in the room to see it, Choromatsu felt doubly as anxious as before. His heart was racing in his chest and his breathing was quickly getting fast and shallow. Thank god the field prevented the door from opening.

“Choromatsu?” The third oldest heard Karamatsu’s worried voice from the other side of the door and saw how he tried to open the door, the handle moving up and down. His heart was beating like crazy. “Choromatsu? Are you there?” Karamatsu asked a little louder. “Are you okay?”

Choromatsu blinked a few times. He had to snap out of it. Everything was fine. “Y-yeah. Just a second,” he answered, his voice shaky and he knew that the second oldest would easily recognize the traces of fear in his voice. Now he just had to make the force field to disappear before Karamatsu would grow too worried and suspicious.

“Alright. You got thirty seconds,” Karamatsu answered.

In panic Choromatsu looked around, not even sure what he was looking for. He just had to calm down. Just as easily as he could create force fields, he could make them disappear. The only time he had ever really used his powers had been when the wall had collapsed on him. In fact he had no idea how strong they were. Whenever he used his powers, he always had an unnatural sense of the force fields. He knew exactly where they were. He felt it, even if he didn’t see them. He also felt when something touched them.

Choromatsu did barely even need to focus to the force field to make it disappear. There was no trace left of it. The third oldest didn’t have time to feel relieved of it as he walked to the door and opened it.

Still shaken, his eyes wide and unable to calm his breathing, Choromatsu met his immediate older brother’s stare. Karamatsu looked worried and Choromatsu couldn’t really blame him. He must not have looked very good. At least he didn’t feel good. Karamatsu looked behind him to the room before he looked at him again. “Choromatsu, is everything okay?” he asked.

Choromatsu realized he had been staring Karamatsu in his own panicked thoughts as he worried about how bad it would have been, if Karamatsu had opened the door and then he had created the field and he had seen it. He was praying in his mind that Karamatsu hadn’t realized anything out of the ordinary. As the second oldest spoke, he tensed a little and focused again at the moment. “Yes! Yes, I’m fine!” he said quickly and turned around, going to pick up the books that he had knocked down..

Karamatsu walked into the room after him. “Brother, you do know that you can talk to me about everything. I share the same trauma with you. Would you like to talk about it? It might help a little,” he said.

Choromatsu glanced at him, averted his eyes and then he shook his head. He definitely couldn’t talk to him. There was no one he could talk. He had to bear the crushing weight of his secret all alone. Although, he knew that Karamatsu was right. It would probably help for like a five minutes before he’d start panicking because someone knew his secret. “No. Thanks, but no. I don’t want to talk about it,” he answered.

“Alright,” Karamatsu said, sounding a little disappointed. “When I get my pay, I’d like to pay for your therapy if you’d like to try it,” he said.

Choromatsu turned to look at the second oldest again. Therapy? Even if he couldn’t talk about his powers, there sure were many other things he could talk as well if he’d feel comfortable enough to try it. “I- I don’t know. Maybe? But I think there’s more important things to use your money on,” he answered. Surely they had to first pay all the hospital bills. And even after that, wouldn’t Totty or someone else need therapy more than him? He just had to figure this being a new parahuman thing by himself.

“There isn’t. Really,” Karamatsu said. “My brothers’ well being is my main concern and I don’t think you’re doing so well.”

Choromatsu shrugged and avoided his eyes. “I just need time,” he said as he sat down on the couch and turned on the tv. There was no way he could focus on it, he just needed to have something to lay his eyes on and pretend he did something else than worry himself to death.

\---

Choromatsu was dozing off on the couch. He had slept poorly again and as he had laid down to read a magazine, he had started to find it harder and harder to keep his eyes open. So now he was curled up to his side, the magazine laying open on top of him. It was quiet in the house and he was just about to fall asleep.

Suddenly and without a warning the entire couch jerked forward for about half a meter. Choromatsu jolted to sit up, his heart jumping into his throat from the scare. He could only barely stop himself from surrounding himself with a force field.

Frantically, his heart hammering in his chest, Choromatsu looked around the room and when he couldn’t see anything with a quick scan, he looked behind the couch. His eyes widened in surprise, his mouth opening, as he saw Todomatsu on the floor cramped between the couch and the wall.

The youngest mirrored Choromatsu’s startled look before he quickly put on a little nervous smile. “Hi!” he said.

“Todomatsu?! What are you doing?!” Choromatsu exclaimed.

“Uuh, I thought I saw a coin under the couch,” Totty answered and crawled away from behind the couch. “You were sleeping and I tried to move the couch only a little and slowly that I wouldn’t disturb you. I guess I failed in that,” he said, chuckling.

Choromatsu looked at him frowning and shaking his head. “Could you not do that again? You nearly gave me a heart attack,” he said.

“Sure thing! Sorry,” Totty said and with an apologetic grin he stood up and left the room.

Choromatsu looked after him, his heart still beating fast. Thank god he hadn’t created a force field. He would have been so screwed. He didn’t know if the reflex to protect himself with it was good or not.

Choromatsu shook his head, trying to get the shaken feeling to leave him. Everything was alright. He hid his face behind his palms and sighed. He really had to decide what to do before someone would find out about his powers accidentally.

\---

Days had passed and now Choromatsu had prepared everything. He hadn’t yet made his decision, but he had decided to call PRT office and inquire about things that he had been wondering and struggling with for weeks. He was in a park, at a quiet corner and he was sure that no one would be able to hear him. Well, not without superpowers anyway.

He stared at the already dialed number on his phone, still after ten minutes of wondering whether he dared to press the call button. It was a cheap prepaid phone that he would throw away right after this call. It was a lot of money wasted, but there was no helping it. He had to play it safe.

After a few more minutes of his inward battle, Choromatsu finally pressed the button, closing his eyes and biting his lip. He had to do this. He placed the phone against his ear and started to pace around nervously as he listened to the sounds of the phone. After a moment a man’s voice answered to him.

“Parahumans Response Team helpline.”

Choromatsu swallowed hard before he answered. “Hi.”

“Hello! How may I help you?” the man on the other end asked.

“I- I don’t know what to do,” Choromatsu said, his voice shaking a little. He gripped onto the phone hard.

“What seems to be the problem? These calls are confidential,” the man answered professionally.

Choromatsu bit his cheek and took in a deep breath. It was just best to say it. He couldn’t postpone it any longer or he would go crazy. Besides, no one would figure out his identity. It was safe.

“I got powers not too long ago.”

“Oh!” the man answered. “I see. Don’t worry, we can help you. Can I organize you a meeting with our people? At first we need to verify your powers and then you could talk with our hero and some of the higher ups.”

Choromatsu hesitated. “I- I don’t know. I don’t know if I want to join. I’m just thinking about my options, I don’t know why I even called,” he said.

“Sir, I recommend you give it a shot,” the man said. “Of course you don’t have to decide anything or join, but we would like to meet you. And don’t worry, protecting your identity is our highest priority.”

“I’m… I’m still worried. There could be something left behind that you could use to track me down or identify me.”

“I can assure you that you wouldn’t risk anything by just visiting us. If you don’t want to join us, we wouldn’t pressure you.”

Choromatsu chewed his lip nervously. Would it really be okay? “Well, I suppose I’d want to talk to someone about this,” he answered finally.

“We’d like to meet you as well. It’s our job to help parahumans. When would you have time to visit us?” the man asked, sounding glad.

“Uhh, I don’t know? When could I?” Choromatsu asked nervously. He could feel how he was sweating.

“Anytime that’s good for you,” the man answered. “We can organize someone to verify your powers at any time and make sure that someone would be here then to talk with you more about everything.”

“Umm... then how about tomorrow?” Choromatsu asked. He was pacing around as he talked.

“Sure! Can you tell what time would be good to you?”

“Around noon?” Choromatsu said a bit unsure.

“Great!” the man said. “If you want your identity to stay as hidden as possible, you should arrive wearing a mask. Do you want me to send a car to pick you up from somewhere?”

Choromatsu thought about it. In a way that might have been actually better. He wouldn’t have to walk through the city with a mask on. If he went into some park, put on a mask there and the car would pick him up from there. It sounded really scary, though. What if he would be kidnapped again? But these were officers, so surely it should be fine. If he thought about it rationally, a car ride would be better to protect his identity. “A car ride would be nice,” he answered.

“Alright. When and from where?”

Choromatsu told him the name of a park a few kilometers from their home. “Half past eleven would be good.”

“Good. So a PRT car will come to the park then. Mention that you had a phone conversation yesterday with them. You don’t even need to mention what was it about if you’re worried someone might overhear. Then step into the car and we’ll have first interviewer there with you as well as the driver and one PRT officer for security, but don’t be alarmed by them. You’ll drive into the PRT building and your interview will continue. Of course you’re free to leave anytime. How does that sound?” the man asked.

“It sounds okay,” Choromatsu said. At least he’d have his force fields if something went wrong.

“Great. Then I’ll make sure all the arrangements are done.”

“If I come into other thoughts, I won’t show up,” Choromatsu said. He might still change his mind.

“Of course, that’d be alright. Even then you’d be very welcome to call or visit us anytime. So, is everything clear to you for tomorrow? Can I still help you with something?” the man asked.

“No… I think this was it,” Choromatsu said. “So tomorrow.”

“Yes, tomorrow. Please don’t stress too much about it. I hope the rest of your day will be good.”

“Thanks. Okay, bye.” Choromatsu ended the call.

He lowered the phone and looked at it. He should throw it away, but what if he still needed it? There was no way he could bring it home though. Looking around, his eyes stopped at a pile of rocks. He walked closer, turned off the phone and hid it between the rocks. Then he turned around and left the park. He had a lot to think about for readying himself for tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> Will kara and choro meet?? What will happen if they do??
> 
> I hope you liked the short Choro part we have here, next chapter will already be Ichimatsu.
> 
> Please stay tuned for more. My twitter is @dragonfruitkiss, follow it for updates.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What has Ichimatsu been up to?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!  
This time it's Ichimatsu chapter. I hope it's clear enough what are flashbacks and what not. Also this is happening before the end of Choro's chapter.  
Enjoy!!

A gun being pointed at him. Two men smiling sadistically in front of him in a dim hallway, no mercy or sympathy in their eyes, only lust to kill.

“Run. Go on, run.”

“And you might want to try dodging the bullets.”

He took a careful step backwards, staring at the men in terror. He was going to die.

“Run!”

He turned around on his heels and started running as fast as he could. He was still hurting where he had been hit and his hands were tied, but now he just had to run. Tears rose into his eyes as he tried to escape through the long corridor in fear while the men laughed and mocked him behind him.

With a loud bang a gun was fired.

Ichimatsu blinked his eyes, trying to get rid of the haunting memory. He had been staring out of the window and sunken again in his mind. He turned his head away and took in what was going on in their room. Only Choromatsu and Todomatsu were present. The others were probably out. The third oldest was leaning on the wall, staring at the floor and biting his nails nervously. The youngest was sitting on the floor and reading something from his phone, focused. Every now and then he stopped to clearly think and process what he had read before he continued again.

Ichimatsu got up from the couch where he had been sitting and walked next to the youngest. “What have you got there?” he asked. Todomatsu had been reading stuff constantly so intensely after the first week after their kidnapping, so Ichimatsu couldn’t help but to be a little curious about what he was reading. Maybe it wasn’t only the latest trends?

Todomatsu jumped and hastily turned off his phone, snapping his head up to look at Ichimatsu. “I-Ichimatsu-niisan! Don’t scare me like that! I didn’t hear you!”

Ichimatsu had seen that it had been “Parahumans online”, the biggest forum dedicated to parahuman discussion on the internet, that Todomatsu had been reading. It was full of information and usually any new information about parahumans was put in there first. When people met new parahumans, they usually told others in this forum about it.

“Parahumans?” Ichimatsu asked, raising an eyebrow. On the other side of the room Choromatsu made a weird cough-choking sound.

Todomatsu averted his eyes and looked uncomfortable. “Y-yeah! So?” He looked at Ichimatsu in the eyes with more confidence. “Isn’t it pretty fair that I want to know more of them after I’ve been tortured by one of them?!” His lower lip started wobbling and he looked away again. Ichimatsu started to feel really uncomfortable. He was praying for Totty not to start crying. “There’s so much I need to know. Information is important,” the youngest continued quieter.

“Yeah, of course,” Ichimatsu said and started to make his way out of the room. He took a quick glance at Choromatsu, who looked hastily away as their eyes met briefly. Ichimatsu frowned, but left the room. He had been acting so weird ever since the incident, but he could blame him. Still he hoped that Choromatsu would get back to normal hopefully soon.

Ichimatsu went to the front door and put on his shoes. “I’m going out,” he said but not very loudly, so most likely the two brothers at home didn’t hear him. He opened the door and stepped into the hallway, making his way out of the building.

His leg was still aching as he put his weight on it with steps. The first bullet fired had missed him. So had the second one. He had understood that the men had been playing with him. Where was the fun in killing him right away?

The third bullet had went right through his calf. Crying out in pain, he had collapsed to the ground. If it had even been possible for him to panic more, it must have been then. Ichimatsu could still feel the crushing terror that had clouded his mind as he had touched his wound and seen his hand covered in fresh blood. His blood. He had been shot.

Cold, excited laughing had made him to look up and see how the two men had been lazily walking closer to him, enjoying the situation. They were shouting insults and mockery to him. Ichimatsu had been unable to focus on anything else but his panic. They had been on their way to kill him. He had had to get out of their sight. Distract them or something. As long as they had been looking at him with that hunt in their eyes, he had known that he had been dead.

Crying out, he had forced himself to get back on his feet. The two men behind him had shouted excitedly. The only thing that Ichimatsu had been aware of had been that he had to get away from them - or he’d die.

A bullet had passed his arm only by inches, making him jump and whimper. The pain radiating from his leg was horrible. The moment he heard another gunshot, a new wave of burning pain shot up from the same leg that had been already injured. He could only remember pain and terror that he had felt as he had fallen to the ground, unconscious.

A cold shiver went down Ichimatsu’s spine as he thought about it. He walked through the streets of their neighbourhood, then slipped quietly to an alleyway. He walked to a dumpster and looked around, checking that no one was there. Then he pushed the dumpster out of the way, revealing a sewer lid. He crouched down and lifted it up as well as a plastic bag that had been tied to the lid.

Ichimatsu set them to the ground and opened the bag carefully. There were some pieces of clothes, a few wallets and cat food. He took out a black ski mask and a can of cat food before putting the bag and the lid back to their place and pushing the dumpster above them again. He pocketed the can and put on the ski mask. It was time to check the area.

After he had passed out once the second bullet had hit him, Ichimatsu hadn’t known how much time had passed when he had regained his consciousness. As he had looked around, he had seen that everything was dark. It had been really dark, but he had been able to see with no problem. When he had heard scared shouts, the situation had gotten back to him with a crash. Quickly he had turned to look at the two men that stood back to back in the middle of the corridor, holding guns protectively in front of themselves and whipping their head wildly from side to side. It had taken a few seconds for Ichimatsu to understand that they had been looking for him. The corridor was engulfed by unnaturally thick shadows that somehow seemed to be almost alive, judging by the way they twisted and slid on the surfaces.

Ichimatsu’s eyes had widened with realization. It was him. He was creating the shadows. He felt the shadows and realized that he was part of them. He hadn’t understood at the moment what the hell was going on, but he had been part of the shadows, his shadows. He had merged into them literally. Letting his new senses to guide him, he had navigated in the shadows right next to the men, emerged and knocked out both of them.

The building around him had been rumbling as he had stared at the two unconscious men laying on the floor, covered by his shadows. He had understood that he had gotten superpowers. But at the moment he hadn’t had time to think about it. He had just needed to find his brothers. He had started limping towards where his brothers should have been, making the thick shadows disappear.

Ichimatsu shook his head slightly, focusing to the present again. He glanced around once more and then let thick shadows flow everywhere from under his feet. The alleyway got much darker as his shadows suck in the light. Taking a step forward, Ichimatsu merged into them, disappearing from the view of an eye.

He was in his shadows but he was also a part of them. He started moving forward towards other alleyways to see that everything was good. He had a sense of his body almost like he normally did, but when he was in his shadows, movement was much more fluid, there was no resistance and he didn’t need to move a muscle as he slid through his shadows. His shadows were really black and the way they slithered as he spread them, made them look almost liquid. They made the area feel much darker as they absorbed the light effectively and normal flashlights or something similar weren’t enough to do much against them. Still they were shadows, so they could only exist on surfaces, needing backgrounds. His shadows themselves couldn’t do anything but creep people out, but the fact that he could merge into them and move in them gave him pretty good tools for fighting off unwanted people.

Ichimatsu made only a thin line of shadow ahead of himself, just wide enough that he could pass through it. He needed the shadow to be around thirty centimeters wide to move through it, but that was getting kind of uncomfortable. It was starting to get dark outside, but some people were walking on the streets, so he was creating the shadow only at the base of buildings, not to get caught by anyone’s attention as he made his way into another alleyway.

He let his shadows spread and emerged from them quietly and cautiously, looking around. He snapped his head to the side as he heard soft rattle.

“Meow.”

Ichimatsu relaxed. It was just one of his friends. He walked closer to the beautiful black and white cat and extended his hand to her. She got up to her back legs to push his hand as she started purring. Ichimatsu smiled and took out the can of cat food, opening it. The cat started meowing louder and stretching her neck to smell the food before Ichimatsu set it on the ground for her. From somewhere one more cat appeared, heading straight towards the food and started to wolf it down, racing the other.

Ichimatsu looked at them a small smile on his face. He gave both of them a small pet, which they ignored, before he got up. He looked up at the wall of a tall block building and watched how his shadows started to slither their way up the walls. He walked to the wall and melted into the shadows. He started making his way up, having a one last look at the two cats before he focused on what was ahead of him.

It took him a moment to reach the top of the building. His powers allowed him to move at ease wherever his shadows were, including ceilings and walls, but his speed was pretty much as fast as he could walk or run. Still moving in the shadows was much more effortless. The rooftop was dark, so no one should have been able to see him. He emerged from the shadows, remaining crouched down on the ground stealthily.

After the kidnapping and receiving his powers, Ichimatsu had stayed at home with the others pretty much for the first two weeks. His leg was of course injured which kind of had forced him to stay still, but the main reason had been Jyushimatsu. The two of them hadn’t left each other’s sides for many days, looking for comfort. Ichimatsu would have liked to go outside to try his powers sooner, but he couldn’t have made himself to leave the second youngest. Only after Jyushimatsu had went outside alone for the first time after the incident, Ichimatsu had felt relieved enough and decided it was okay for him to go out as well.

He had felt a little unsure about leaving Choromatsu and Todomatsu alone, but he really had had to get some alone time. Besides, Todomatsu had started to look a little better. Choromatsu not so much, but most of the time Osomatsu or Karamatsu were at home. A few more days had passed and both Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu had started to go outside on an almost daily basis. Ichimatsu had been a bit worried of what Jyushimatsu was doing and would he be okay, but when he had seen him taking his baseball bat with him and returning home his smile wider, he had felt happy. He could feel much more at ease, knowing that he’d be alright.

Once going out again, Ichimatsu had first tried out his powers carefully for a few times. He had gotten a hand of them surprisingly easily. It was like he had some new sense and he just knew how to use his powers. Whenever he was alone, he preferred moving merged into his shadows. That way his leg was only aching a little, not hurting like it would otherwise with every step.

Ichimatsu tilted his head a little as he picked up voices, standing out from the noise of the traffic. Merging into his shadows, he moved to the edge of the rooftop before coming out of them again and taking a look at the alleyway below. Even if it was dark and shadowy, he created his own shadows which made everything even darker, spreading them over the roof.

Far below him, Ichimatsu could see two figures, cursing and joking around loudly. He narrowed his eyes, dived into his shadows and started to travel down the wall of the building slowly. He let the shadows on the roof vanish as he left. For now he wanted to keep them at minimum, not to draw attention.

As he got closer to the ground, he saw that it was a young man and a young woman, who were being loud. The trash cans had been kicked down and Ichimatsu could smell pot before seeing them smoking something. He clenched his teeth and moved even closer. The shadows around him were growing and spreading.

“I didn’t even hurt her. I was in a good mood,” the woman said, sneering. “Today’s on me,” she continued, throwing a wallet into the air and catching it again.

“Good!” the man said. “I was hoping I wouldn’t need to waste my own money on drinks.”

Ichimatsu bared his teeth, if that was even possible in his merged state, as he got closer. These two probably weren’t the worst of criminals, but they definitely weren’t welcome. After going out and getting a hang of his powers, Ichimatsu had started to drive off suspicious or just plain bad people from their neighbourhood. He had quickly claimed a territory around their home, making sure that his cats could live there undisturbed and that no crimes happened. He’d make the neighbourhood safer. That was what he could do for his family.

Slowly Ichimatsu let his shadows spread over the alleyway. Soon the ground under the couple’s feet was covered in shadows as they kept spreading and started to crawl up the walls. There were only a couple of small lamps, shedding light to the alley, but as the shadows grew, they started to suck the light around them and everything got darker. The lamps were still lighting the place but much weaker.

“What the hell?!” the man shouted, looking around him wildly as he realized the change in the surroundings.

The woman had been leaning on the wall, but now she took quick steps away from it, staring in shock as the rugged edge of the shadow licked its way up the wall. “Fuck!! What’s happening?!” she shrieked.

Ichimatsu followed how they spun around wildly, looking for anything that had caused the unnatural phenomenon. He made his way almost under the woman’s feet and without a warning he surfaced from the shadows. On all fours close to the ground, he didn’t let out a sound as he grabbed a hold of the woman’s legs and tripped her to the ground. She screamed and fell hard, but Ichimatsu had already merged again.

“What happe- Aaaahh!!” The man had turned around to look at his friend, but right at that moment Ichimatsu had emerged and kicked him to the back, grimacing a little as kicking hurt his wounds, but it wasn’t as bad as it had been before. The man dropped to the ground and Ichimatsu was hidden again.

“Are you okay?!” the woman shouted.

“What the hell?! What is going on?!” the man screamed, scrambling back to his feet, only to be tripped by Ichimatsu again. It was almost funny how easy it was.

“Who- who are you?!” the woman shouted. “Show yourself, coward!!”

“If that’s what you want,” Ichimatsu thought. He moved to the wall behind the woman and making the shadows swirl as if they were alive, he stepped out of them. “Behind you,” he said in a dark voice.

Quickly both of the intruders swung their heads to look at him and scrambled further away. The shadows under Ichimatsu’s feet swirled menacingly.

“Who the fuck are you?!” the woman shouted. Ichimatsu saw how she fumbled something from her pocket.

Ichimatsu narrowed his eyes and let himself drop into the shadows once again. He moved swiftly behind her, rose from the shadows, getting quickly to his feet, and grabbed a hold of the woman’s hand. She let out a surprised shout as Ichimatsu snatched a knife from her hand and pointed it at her. “Give me your money and fuck off!” he said dangerously.

“Okay! Just calm down!” the man yelled, scared, holding his palms up in a calming manner. He took out his wallet and dropped it to the ground. They had clearly realized that Ichimatsu was a cape and that they could do nothing but give up and escape. They couldn’t ever beat him without real weapons.

The woman tossed her wallet and the stolen one to the ground in front of Ichimatsu. “H-here. We’re cool now, right?” she asked with a timid voice.

Ichimatsu glanced to the ground, then looked back at them, narrowing his eyes. “Why are you still here?!” he asked. As soon as he had said that, he took a few quick steps forward and became part of the shadows of the ground. He made the shadows swirl wildly under them. The intruders startled and ran away as quickly as they could, cursing and screaming.

Ichimatsu resurfaced and picked up the wallets. Quick check showed that there were only a little more than a hundred dollars, but it was still something. He had started to collect materials for a proper costume and for it, he needed money.

Hiding back into the shadows, Ichimatsu started moving again. He circled through the nearby alleys and when everything seemed peaceful, he started making his way back to where he kept his stuff hidden. He felt a tingle of satisfaction inside his chest. He had again driven away some filth too close to their home. He got some pleasure from that. It was fun to scare people. Finally he actually felt like he was doing something that had some effect on something. He could make their crappy neighbourhood safer. He knew that his methods were questionable, but this was the best he could do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> I'm telling you already that I'll take a break from updating this after the next two chapters. I don't know for how long but at least for sometime.
> 
> See you soon!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jyushimatsu still loves playing baseball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!
> 
> Time flies by so quickly.... Now it's Jyushi chapter. It's so hard to write his pov....
> 
> Betaread by Rustfeather.
> 
> Enjoy!

Jyushimatsu couldn’t remember the last time he had been staying inside for such a long period of time than right after the kidnapping. He had stayed so still, mostly just huddling together with Ichimatsu. He had been craving for exercise and just being able to run, but things at home had been so bad that he couldn’t have left.

He had been feeling really sad. The events of the kidnapping had played on his mind over and over again, not giving him a break. When he closed his eyes, he could still hear the horrible sound of his bones cracking and breaking. Even a slightest thought of it sent uncomfortable shivers down his spine.

\---

Jyushimatsu had been separated and dragged away from his brothers by the cloning parahuman. Jyushimatsu kicked and screamed as he fought against the hands of the clones to free himself, but in vain. Once they were in some other room, he was dropped to the ground roughly. He grunted and tried to get to his feet when he was kicked to his back and he fell to the ground again harshly, his hands still tied behind his back.

“I love when people struggle, but even more I love when I can break them,” the parahuman said, his voice bloodthirsty and menacing. Before Jyushimatsu could even react in any way, he felt how something hard and heavy hit his ankle, making a horrible sound, hot waves of pain shooting up his leg.

He screamed and the pain didn’t subside one bit. He couldn’t help tears rising into his eyes and starting to flow down his cheeks. His ankle! It hurt so much! He tried to move his feet only to cry out when the pain grew.

“Let’s see if you’ll kick anymore,” the parahuman said maliciously.

Still laying on the ground helplessly, Jyushimatsu managed to look over his shoulder just in time to see how the villain had brought a crowbar down on his other ankle, a disturbing, gleeful smile on his face.

“Aaaaahhhh!!” Jyushimatsu screamed in agony. With a terrible crack his other ankle was broken as well.

Jyushimatsu laid on the ground, shaking with strong sobs, the dust of the floor dirtying his face. He wanted to move. He wanted to run away, but he couldn’t. Every attempt to move his legs doubled the pain.

“What is it? Don’t you want to kick anymore? Don’t you want to run away?” the parahuman mocked.

“Pl-please…!!” Jyushimatsu sobbed.

“Hmm? What was that?”

“S-stop! Let- let me go… please!” the second youngest cried in fear and agony.

“You want to go?” the parahuman asked and kicked Jyushimatsu’s legs, making him cry out. “There’s the door. You’re free to go,” he said, jeering.

Jyushimatsu wailed in pain and lifted his gaze enough to see a door half a dozen meters ahead of himself. He clenched his teeth and lowered his head against the ground again. There was no way he could get anywhere anymore. Not with his legs broken. Even if he had had some hope left before or he had been just denying the possibility that they might die, it was gone now. He would be killed. He was sure of it.

“ _ I need my legs! I have to escape and I need my legs for that! I need to run away and save my brothers. I have to get away from here!!” _

The villain snarled and leaned down above Jyushimatsu. To his surprise, the second youngest realized how the ropes around his wrists were cut and his hands were free. Hiccupping, he looked over his shoulder to the parahuman.

“Go! Crawl!” he yelled and kicked Jyushimatsu again. “If you don’t move, you’re going to die here and now!” he said and in a blink of an eye created two new clones that lifted their feet up, ready to kick and stomp on Jyushimatsu.

Jyushimatsu whimpered and pressed himself closer to the ground. “ _ I need to move!” _ With the help of adrenaline rush, he started to drag himself forward on the dirty floor with his arms. It hurt like hell and he wailed and cried, but pushed himself to continue. He couldn’t give up. Even if all the hope was gone, he couldn’t just give up!

The villain laughed. ”Yes! Try to escape!” A sharp kick hit the second youngest to the side. “But don’t really think you can make it!”

Jyushimatsu cried out and just as the parahuman had lifted up his crowbar again, without a warning his eyes rolled backwards and he collapsed to the ground. The second youngest looked at him with wide eyes. He was just laying on the ground, probably unconscious.

He knit his eyebrows together and gritted his teeth. Jyushimatsu had no idea what had just happened but he should do something now. With determination he continued dragging himself onward.

Only a short moment later a scream with a piercing intensity emanated to him from where his brothers should have been. Simultaneously the whole building shook and started to rumble menacingly.

“ _ Karamatsu-niisan!! _ ” Jyushimatsu thought in panic, recognizing the voice. Something really, really bad had happened and Jyushimatsu wasn’t sure he wanted to find out what. What if one of his brothers had actually died?!

Dust and small pieces of concrete were falling to the ground as Jyushimatsu crawled on the floor. He was trying to turn around and go back to where he had been brought to the room, back to his brothers. The pain was nearly paralyzing and making him feel dizzy. Tears were blurring his vision in the already dim room, but he pushed himself forward. He couldn’t stop and curl up into a ball to cry like he wanted to.

“ _ I need to get away from here!! I’ll die if I don’t move!” _ He screwed his eyes shut and let out a whine. _ “It hurts so much!! I need help! I need my legs to escape! I have to get away! I want to run, I want to run, I want to run, I need to run away!!” _

Jyushimatsu was panicking inside his mind, his urgent thoughts clouding his mind. Suddenly it all got even hazier and he lost his consciousness.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but it didn’t feel like more than a few seconds before he opened his eyes again. Still disoriented, his eyes could hardly focus on anything. Only a few of the electric lights were still on, making the room much darker, and the dust in the air was making the seeing even harder. The building was still rumbling and some cracking sounds could be heard from the structures.

“ _ I have to go! _ ”

That thought drove his actions and in a blink of an eye he was on his feet and in a run. Abruptly he stopped, eyes wide, and looked down at his legs. They weren’t hurting anymore. He was standing and they felt stronger than ever. The urge to run was huge.

Looking around Jyushimatsu realized that in a heartbeat he had run much farther than he should have. What was going on?

Before he could collect his thoughts, he heard a groan behind him. Quickly he turned around and saw how the cloning parahuman got up to his feet, holding his head. His back was turned to Jyushimatsu.

The second youngest clenched his teeth. He had to try to do something to stop him from hurting anyone else from his family. He dashed into a run towards him, the speed of his running surprising him. It was faster than he had ever run. Maybe faster than anyone had ever run. He was  _ really _ fast!

In a split second he reached the villain and with a swift move, he kicked him to the back of his head. The villain collapsed to the ground again.

Jyushimatsu stared at him and let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. For a short moment he felt relief wash over him. The immediate danger was gone. Then the rumbling building reminded Jyushimatsu of itself as something heavy collapsed somewhere nearby and he jumped slightly, turning his head towards the sound. His heart skipped a beat as he remembered the blood chilling scream and the danger his brothers were facing.

Not wasting anymore time, he started running to were his brothers were. He was so, so fast. Too fast. Unnaturally fast.

“ _ I think I just got superpowers. _ ”

In less than a second he got into a hallway with a collapsed wall. His heart skipped a beat once again as he saw Choromatsu crouched down to the ground in the middle of all the pieces of concrete. In a beat he jumped next to him.

“Choromatsu-niisan?! Choromatsu-niisan, are you okay?” he had asked worriedly. The third oldest was grasping the sides of his head, hyperventilating and not reacting to Jyushimatsu’s voice. Cold, heavy feeling dropped on the bottom of the second youngest’s stomach. Quickly he moved in front of Choromatsu, kneeling down and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Choromatsu-niisan!” he said louder, worry clear in his voice.

Choromatsu jumped slightly, lifting his head quickly up to meet Jyushimatsu’s eyes. “Jyu-Jyushimatsu?” he asked, his voice uncertain and wavering. Just like Jyushimatsu, he was badly battered and tears were streaming down his cheeks.

“It’s me, Choromatsu-niisan. I’m here,” the second youngest said, taking a hold of both of his hands and giving them a reassuring squeeze. Quickly he looked around but then back at the third oldest as he saw that no villains were at sight. “Choromatsu-niisan, are you alright?”

Choromatsu’s eyes were wide and the look in them was full of terror. He was heaving in quick, shallow breaths troublesomely, close to hyperventilating. “N-no, no! I-I-I…. Th-the wall! We- w-we… We’ll…” He couldn’t get anything better than that out from his mouth as he stuttered.

“Shhh. It’s gonna be alright,” Jyushimatsu said, pulling him into a hug. Choromatsu’s breathing stayed fast and anxious, his shoulders moving up and down with each breath. Jyushimatsu’s lower lip trembled and he buried his face into his older brother’s hoodie. He was shaking with the tears that he was now trying to hold back. Choromatsu needed him to be the one in control now because he clearly couldn’t function cleverly right now. The second youngest had to try to help him. But first they had to find their brothers.

“Come on niisan,” Jyushimatsu said and pulled Choromatsu up. The third oldest didn’t resist but the fearful stare in his eyes was distant and Jyushimatsu felt like he wasn’t fully present. He couldn’t really blame him though from being shocked this badly.

The second youngest gripped Choromatsu’s hand hard and started dragging him through the partly collapsed corridor and rumbling building, making sure that he wouldn’t trip onto anything and taking a glance at him every other second.

\---

Jyushimatsu shivered as the events flashed through his mind. Shaking his head, he tried to get rid of the uneasy thoughts. He tightened his hold of his baseball bat, forced his slightly weakened smile to widen back to normal. He walked vigorously down a street, wearing his yellow jumpsuit, their zipper pulled up high and the collar hiding all of his face that was below his eyes. He was going to play baseball. He needed to get exercise.

When he had gotten a little further from their home, Jyushimatsu looked around and when he didn’t see anyone he knew, he started running. And this time it wasn’t running like normal people, this was his new running.

As soon as Jyushimatsu had just dared to leave his brothers’ side and go running, he had started to feel better. He had felt like things would be alright. He had had fun. He had felt happy, at least until he returned back to home and saw again how much his brothers were hurting. But then again the next day the happiness that he felt when running so fast that he was just a yellow flash, had returned.

He ran really fast and he loved it.

When he ran a literal yellow flash, which had a strong pulling force, followed after him. He had also found out that he could create a powerful flash of light to come out of his body. It resembled mostly of a flashbang. It was kind of confusing why he could do that, but he didn’t question it. Superpowers shouldn’t be questioned, they should be enjoyed.

Jyushimatsu ran through the streets. People were shouting alarmed and surprised as he passed them by and car tires were screeching as he zigzagged in between them and sometimes crossed roads. He was so fast that there was no way a car could run him over. He had gotten a good boost on his senses and reaction time, being able to make any sharp turns that came to his way as he ran.

It was awesome!

It didn’t take long before Jyushimatsu arrived to an empty field, where he loved practising baseball. Normally he would run one or two warm up rounds before starting to practise his swings, but now that he was so fast and he could run  _ a lot _ before tiring, he ran fifteen laps instead, not even breaking a sweat. He started stretching his arms and legs before he picked up his bat that he had tossed on the ground earlier. He took a stance and started swinging it, counting the swings out loud.

“One! Two! Three! Four!” he went on.

Jyushimatsu had decided it was best not to tell his brothers about his new superpowers. They had went through hell and he knew that they’d just start to stress too much if they found out. Especially Choromatsu didn’t need anything to increase his anxiety. Besides, he didn’t know how his brothers would react. Would they be excited or jealous and never want to hang out with him again? Or would they be afraid of him after suffering in the hands of supervillains?

“One-hundred-sixty-four! One-hundred-sixty-five!” 

Jyushimatsu didn’t like hiding things, but it was for the best not to tell them. It felt especially bad not to tell Ichimatsu, but maybe he could do that later when more time had passed. Then again it wasn’t anything new that they hid stuff from each other or left things unsaid. That was just how things had been with them when they grew up. For all he knew one of his brothers could have been a cape as well.

“Four-hundred-twenty! Four-hundred-twenty-one!”

At the side of the field on a bench were sitting few people, cameras pointed at Jyushimatsu. He wasn’t bothered by it, they didn’t disturb his practise, but it was a little weird. It hadn’t taken more than a day or two before every time he was out playing baseball, some people were watching him like that. He wondered if they were baseball fans. But truth to be told, he was pretty sure they were interested about his powers.

Everytime Jyushimatsu ran unnaturally fast, they went wild with the cameras, following his every movement. When he looked at them, they seemed to tense up and become alerted. Jyushimatsu stopped swinging and turned to look at them and sure enough the onlookers tensed up and stared at him with wide eyes. Jyushimatsu tilted his head to the side, smiling at them, even though they couldn’t see it from his collar. It was confusing. He was used to people being weirded out by him but this was different. These people were wary but extremely curious.

Jyushimatsu wasn’t sure what to think of that, but he decided to let them watch and just did his practise as always. He wondered if he should try talking to them one day? Some onlookers he could already recognize by face.

“Five-hundred!!” he yelled, threw his bat away and dashed into a run. In a couple of seconds he had run a lap around the whole field, the yellow flash tailing behind him. “Homerun!!” he shouted as he jumped up and down excitedly. He picked up his bat again and continued his swings, starting to count from zero again.

After a few minutes Jyushimatsu realized that someone was walking towards him. He stopped his practice and turned to look at the man, tilting his head a little, the wide smile on his face. The man was taller than him, in a good shape but not too muscular. He had a short, cropped hair and his arms were covered in tattoos. The look in his eyes was clever and careful, but on his face he wore a smile.

Jyushimatsu followed as he walked closer. He couldn’t help but wonder if the man was a gang member. Then again this was no longer Japan, he reminded himself. Tattoos alone didn’t mean anything. He actually knew some really nice people with a lot of tattoos. Maybe this one was one of them? In any case, Jyushimatsu didn’t want to judge anyone just by the looks.

“Hi!” the man greeted, jerking his head up a little. “What’s up?”

Jyushimatsu turned to fully face him, his wide smile hidden behind his collar. “Good afternoon! How are you?” he asked back.

“Good, good!” the man said, stopping a few meters in front Jyushimatsu. He made tiny nods with his head as he looked at the other before he finally continued speaking with a smack of his lips. “You run damn fast,” he stated.

Jyushimatsu’s smile widened. “Hahahah! I do!” he answered.

“You do, you do,” the man answered and studied the second youngest’s face a couple more seconds. “Say, don’t you think your speed should be put in a better use? It’s kinda wasted here.”

“It is?” Jyushimatsu asked confused. “But I’m having fun.”

“Sure!” the man said and took a couple of almost careful steps closer. “But wouldn’t you like to make some money with that power?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” the man said, “that we could really use someone like you. Your speed would make some things really easy and it would be really amazing to have a cape on our group,” his smile had widened to look more like a smirk now.

“Are they your friends?” Jyushimatsu asked, pointing towards the small group with cameras.

“What? No!” the other exclaimed before taking a deep breath and continuing calmer: “Come with me. I can introduce you to the others. We have food and booze.” He turned around and started walking away, glancing at Jyushimatsu over his shoulder.

Jyushimatsu watched him go. “ _ He seems nice.” _ He shrugged and started following him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!
> 
> So as I said, After the next chapter this story will go on hiatus.
> 
> Now Totty is the only one left...
> 
> See you in two weeks!! Follow me on twitter for matsu stuff and updates on my fics @dragonfruitkiss


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Todomatsu is practicing his power.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!
> 
> Finally we get to see what Totty has been doing!!   
Betaread by Rustfeather.
> 
> Enjoy!!

_ Clank _

A chair fell to the ground loudly. Exhaling, Todomatsu lowered his leg, with which he had just kicked, to the ground. His focused stare turned into a pleased smile. He was getting better and better.

Totty lifted his gaze up. He was at some rooftop terrace, which looked like not many people ever spent time there. The sun was setting, stretching the shadows long. He was wearing a plain, white shirt and blue jeans. He had his beanie nearly pulled to the level of his eyes, a surgical mask was covering his mouth and nose and nice, black leather gloves were covering his hands, especially because of his healing nails.

He moved his gaze to search other rooftops for suitable targets. Two blocks ahead there was a small roof access stairwell or something on the roof that he was looking at. It created a nice big shadow which Totty focused on. He took a deep breath and glanced at his feet. Two meters in front of him there was a shadow of the railing of the roof that he was on now. Lifting his gaze to the other roof again, staring at the shadow, he made a sudden move to step into the shadow of the railing and in a blink of an eye, he came out from the stairwell’s shadow on the other building.

“ _ Good!” _

He didn’t stay more than a second or two before he teleported away again to another rooftop. Immediately after appearing from the new shadow, he searched the next one with his eyes and teleported again. This continued for a few times and in less than a minute he had travelled far, into a different district.

“ _ Good, now let’s try something harder.” _

Once appearing again from a shadow at a different location, Totty started running the split second he was able to. As he ran, he took in the new rooftop with his gaze. It was just like any other. He jumped over a ventilation pipe, crouched down, grabbed a small piece of concrete on the ground and threw it to where he had come from. Before the concrete could hit the ground, Totty had teleported to the neighbouring rooftop via the shadow of the pipe.

He didn’t stop running. He was getting exhausted, but that was the point. He had to practice. Todomatsu locked his eyes into a table on a balcony across the street. The balcony had glass walls around it, but Totty knew that wouldn’t stop him. He just hoped no one would hear him.

As he took his next step, he disappeared into the shadow that his foot created the exact moment that the feet touched the ground. When he was looking at the shadow where he wanted to teleport the actual teleportation didn’t take even a split second. The moment he touched the shadow that he was using to teleport, he was gone.

Todomatsu appeared on the balcony. However, this time he was on all fours and he hit his head to the table with a thud as he tried to stand up. Todomatsu hissed, turned his head to the side, spotting a thick frame in between two pieces of the glass wall. Light was coming from the outside, so this side was in shadow. He teleported to its shadow, now back on his feet and then he teleported away, again to a rooftop. The visit to the balcony hadn’t taken more than a few seconds.

As Totty appeared to the new place, he tripped and fell to the ground.

“Shit…” he muttered quietly and scrambled back up quickly, instantly continuing his running.

“ _ You can’t trip. If you land badly, you should be quick enough to teleport into the shadow under you!” _

Totty concentrated harder again as he ran. He was panting quite heavily at this point. As soon as he reached the edge of the roof, he glued his eyes on a trash can down on an alleyway and teleported there through the shadow of his foot in the middle of running. He appeared from the other shadow and after a few quick swings of his head, he started running again. A few meters ahead of himself laid a skateboard on the ground, abandoned or not, Totty didn’t care. He picked it up on his way and right after that, he teleported again, this time to a shadow only a couple of meters ahead.

Once he appeared there, still holding the skateboard, he turned around quickly and threw the skateboard towards the trash can. His throw was too weak and the board clattered loudly against the asphalt.

Todomatsu clicked his tongue unsatisfied. He breathed heavily as he walked to the skateboard and kicked it out of frustration.

“ _ You have to get better,” _ he thought.

It was true. He had to practice and learn if he wanted to succeed. If he just worked hard enough, anything could be possible for him.

He was a parahuman after all.

Days, even a week had passed since their kidnapping before Todomatsu had accidentally teleported one day and he had realized that he was no ordinary human anymore. The first days after the kidnapping he had just laid on the futon whole days, not doing anything. The event had broken him so badly, everything that had happened then. He had- well, it was better now. He had a superpower.

During that horrible evening, he hadn’t realized when he had received it. That had happened much later while he had been laying on the futon one night, his brothers sleeping on his both sides. Todomatsu had been awake because he had needed to go to the bathroom. However, there was no way he would have gone alone. How could he had been supposed to know that there weren’t any members of The Teeth lurking in the hallway, just waiting for someone to come? The dim light from the streetlights outside the window had been the only light source to their room. It had been so dark and scary. Going to the bathroom meant leaving the safety of the futon. He had known that he had to wake someone up.

Anxiously Totty had stared into the dark hallway, through the crack on the door. Before he had realized, he had teleported there and suddenly he had been surrounded by the hallway’s thick darkness.

He had screamed in panic, waking up the whole family. He had understood that something supernatural had happened, actually the same thing that when he had nearly been killed. To his family he had hastily, his mind confused and scared, explained that he had heard something when going to the bathroom. That had seemed to satisfy everyone - everyone but Totty, who hadn’t been able to sleep during the rest of the night. Quick test in the bathroom had proved him that he was a parahuman, able to teleport from shadow to shadow.

Pieces of a puzzle had finally clicked together in his mind and he had understood that he had received his power during the kidnapping. He had used it then.

Totty had been overwhelmed by this new information. His life had been changed. However, he was sure that it was for the better.

It had given him a reason to get up from the bed the next morning.

Totty exhaled deeply and looked around. The alley was dim and unlit. At a street a few dozen meters away the street lights have been turned on already. He should probably start returning home. Almost everybody should be home and it was for the best that he got back there too before they got worried.

He glanced up. It was at least a few kilometers to home. Good thing that he was able to travel fast if the surroundings allowed him. He had to get back to the rooftops. Todomatsu studied the wall on his left side a little suspiciously. The whole wall was covered in one big shadow. He bit his lip, feeling a bit nervous. He hoped this wouldn’t end badly.

“ _ Oh, come on! Just do it! You know that you can always teleport as long as you remain in shadows.” _

Totty took a deep breath. He couldn’t see to the rooftop, so he was aiming to teleport as high to the wall as he could and then take a hold of the railing and heave himself up enough that he could see to the rooftop and then teleport to a shadow there. He focused his eyes to the top of the wall, lifted his foot so that only the tip of his shoe was touching the ground and then he brought his feet down, disappearing to the shadow under it.

In a split second the youngest was nearly thirty meters up in the air, facing the wall, but he started to fall immediately. “Fuck!!” he screamed, his hands and feet scraping the wall to get a hold from it, but without any luck.

“Fuck!! Shit!!” he screamed again and turned his head to the side. The ground was getting closer to him - fast. His heart beating in fear and mind clouded with panic, his eyes glued to the first shadow that he saw. It was the shadow of the skateboard. He teleported there in a beat.

Todomatsu grunted as he appeared from the shadow, laying on the dirty ground. Then he signed in relief. That had been way too close. He got up to all fours, his limbs shaking. He glanced up to the top of the wall. No way he’d try that again today. He’d take a bus, even if that’d take half an hour to get home.

He stood up and hugged himself. That had been scary. And he  _ hated _ teleporting into small shadows. The shadow of the skateboard was still bearable, but anything smaller than that started to feel so uncomfortable that he felt physically sick.

Usually teleporting was easy and effortless to him. It itself didn’t seem to tire him, it was the way he needed to focus hard to search for suitable shadows to teleport to. That could exhaust him and the pace he could teleport time after time would slow down. It was easy if he only wanted to go from one place to another, given that there were shadows, but if he had to teleport again right after, that made it harder. He was getting much better though.

Still… it wasn’t nearly as hard as it should have been. True, Todomatsu had been practicing for real around a week now, but still. He was pretty sure that his senses had sharpened somehow to help him to use his new power. Or maybe part of the power was the better ability to use it? Todomatsu didn’t know and frankly, he didn’t care as long as he could use it.

Teleportation didn’t really feel like anything. There wasn’t any big sensation. He just left one place and appeared elsewhere, but it happened via shadows. Only when the shadows became small, did he start feeling the teleportation in an uncomfortable way.

Todomatsu walked out of the alleyway and found the nearest bus stop. “Why does it have to be shadows?” he sighed quietly. Darkness was his advantage now and yet he was afraid of it. Wasn’t that just perfect?

A short moment later a bus came and Totty got on it. He found an empty seat to sit on and he slumped down on it. It’d have been much faster and free for him to just return home teleporting, but he had had enough for today. Almost crashing to the ground once a day was enough.

Yawning, Todomatsu took his phone from his pocket and took off his right glove. It had taken around four weeks for his broken fingers to heal. They looked normal now, but the nails… Todomatsu stared at the mising nails intensely, the horrors of the kidnapping and torturing flooding into his mind. It’d still take months before they’d be back to normal. Chills went down his spine and he clenched his teeth. It had hurt so much, but not enough that he could have passed out. He had actually been tortured and nearly killed. The sound of his breaking fingers echoed in his mind, the woman-

Todomatsu shook his head. No, he couldn’t think of any of that. He couldn’t let his thoughts wander there. It hurt too much. It was too painful. He had to stay focussed on improving his skills. Spending his time researching stuff about parahumans and now practising much more than he could at home, he tried to shove the images of the evening away. Only the hope and excitement of having a superpower had helped him to get back on his feet. He couldn’t let himself think about the events of that evening. It had happened and it didn’t matter anymore. He had a superpower now.

His life would soon turn to better. As soon as he was ready.

After a painfully long ride home, Totty got off the bus and started walking the last few blocks home. He looked around and when a car had passed him and he couldn’t see anyone else, he teleported a dozen meters ahead, then another dozen. He never stopped walking between the teleportations, managing to keep up the steady pace of his steps. A small smile tugged the corner of his mouth upwards. He was pretty good already.

“I’m home,” Totty called as he stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind himself. He could hear a noise of water and dishes clattering from the kitchen and the sound of the tv from their room.

It took only a few seconds and then Todomatsu could hear soft foot falls approaching him and he saw Karamatsu appearing into the hallway as he was taking off his shoes and beanie. “Todomatsu, welcome back. Where have you been? I…” He hesitated a little. “You know I’m not comfortable with you being out this late,” the second oldest said.

Todomatsu straightened his back and met his brother’s eyes. “I was out with friends. Karamatsu-niisan, you know things have to return to normal.”

Karamatsu frowned. “Yes, but even normally I don’t like you being out when it’s dark. At least walking outside alone. I’m still worried that your fingers-”

He was cut off by Todomatsu’s sharp look. “I’m fine!” he said a little sharply. Karamatsu should know not to mention anything related to that night. It was taboo to Totty, something not to be even referred to.

Karamatsu closed his mouth. “Okay, if you say so. I’m sorry, I can’t help worrying.”

Totty shook his head slightly. “It’s fine,” he sighed and walked past Karamatsu into the kitchen. Matsuyo was washing dishes there. “Hi, mom,” Totty greeted.

Matsuyo turned to look at him. “Hello, dear,” she said. Todomatsu took some leftovers of the dinner from the fridge and filled up a glass with water, downing it with one go. All the running had made him really thirsty. Then he filled the glass again and sat down at the table, starting to eat.

Matsuyo turned off the tap, dried her hands and turned to fully face the youngest. “How are you, Todomatsu?” she asked, kindly. Totty knew that she too was concerned about him, but she hid it well.

He shrugged, not meeting her eyes. “I’m alright,” he said, shoving more food into his mouth.

Matsuyo crossed her arms and gave her a really motherly look. “Honey, it’s great that you and your brothers seem to be doing better, but I wish I knew better where you go when you leave the house. Especially if you’re outside after dark,” she said, her voice quite careful. “Your mother is just worried after everything that happened.”

Now Totty looked up. “Mom,” he said with as calm and reassuring voice as he could muster. “I’m fine. I mean it.” He offered his mother a smile.

“I didn’t say you aren’t, but actually I think you all should talk about it,” Matsuyo said, now frowning in concern. “You should talk about things like this to be able to process it and heal. I’m so sorry me and your father can’t offer you professional help, but-”

Todomatsu stood up suddenly. The laughter of his torturers’ was echoing inside his head, followed by the sick sound of his finger snapping broken. He clenched his teeth and pressed his nails, the ones he had left, into his palms, trying to get rid of the haunting memory. “No, mom. I’m not talking about it!” he said, shot a sharp look at Matsuyo and left the kitchen.

As soon as Totty got out of the room and no one was seeing him, he screwed his eyes shut and grimazed, shaking his head slowly from side to side. “ _ Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.” _ Without realizing it, he had started to pet his gloved fingers gently and his breathing had gotten a little faster.

Fingers clasped around his throat, leaving him gasping for air in vain.

“ _ N-o! St-stop... Don’t-” _

“Totty?”

Jyushimatsu’s confused and worried question made the youngest open his eyes quickly and snap out of his thoughts. His scared look met the second youngest’s slight frown, although his smile was still the same wide one.

Jyushimatsu walked a little closer and tilted his head to the side as he studied Todomatsu’s face. “Totty, are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine!” Todomatsu said maybe a little too hastily for it to be convincing.

Jyushimatsu looked at him for a few long seconds before he nodded once. “Okay,” he said. At least he respected Totty’s will not to speak. “Would you like to play something?” the second youngest asked.

Totty’s mouth opened a little before he even knew what he was going to answer. His heartbeat was slowly calming. Maybe it would be a good idea to try to calm down and spend the evening without reading and planning for the future.

“Okay,” he answered.

\---

Todomatsu was sitting at a corner of their room, his legs folded up, as he read articles from his phone that he was hiding behind his knees. It was afternoon and Ichimatsu was the only one at home with him. The fourth brother was sitting at the other side of the room, seemingly doing nothing.

“ _ I have to be really careful with my searches. It’s more than normal to google stuff about parahumans, but I still need to be careful,” _ Totty thought. He was more tense than normal, every once in a while glancing quickly at his older brother.

“ _ My power isn’t anything extraordinary, but it’s still pretty good. Well, pretty good for sneaking and escaping.” _

Totty knew that he would be seen as a “mover” with power classifications. He agreed with that. His power was for moving.

He had a lot of big plans and still a lot of planning to do. Since he had received the power, he’d use it for himself. He had literally suffered to get it, even if he hadn’t done that willingly or knowing that he’d get a superpower. But he did get the ability to teleport and he was going to use it as he liked.

Todomatsu wasn’t stupid. He knew that the worst thing he could have done would have been to immediately tell someone about his power. That would have been incredibly careless. A power like this gave him so many possibilities. It made him stronger, but it could also put him at risk. Life as a parahuman wasn’t safe.

The safest option would have been to just stay hidden and never use his power to anything noticeable. However, there was no way he could not use his awesome power. He could finally start making his dream come true. He wanted to live an easy, enjoyable life. For that he needed money. Once he had trained enough and he was sure of what he could do, he could start working. At times he still had doubts and second thoughts, but he had decided that for him it would work the best if he become a master thief. He wasn’t planning on getting involved in anything too big, but he’d steal whatever he wanted. With his power it shouldn’t be even hard.

A cat-like smirk crept on his lips. As scary as it all would be, he was excited for when he would be ready. He wanted a new phone so badly.

\---

Todomatsu tossed and turned in their shared futon, unable to fall asleep again. It was so dark and a strong wind was rattling the window. He was feeling afraid and anxious. He had trouble swallowing and his breathing had gotten harder as well. Already a few times he had sat up to ease his swallowing, in hopes that he’d feel better. That helped - for about five seconds. He couldn’t make himself relax, not when his mind was clouded by the flashes and echoes of that horrible evening.

He could feel how his breathing was again hitching and he lifted his hand up, brushing the skin of his throat where the unmerciful fingers had pressed, cutting him out of air.

“ _ No no no.” _ Todomatsu shook his head violently, trying to get rid of the memory once again. “ _ Don’t think about it! Not now, not ever! Focus on something else. What kind of costume will you have?” _

Todomatsu lowered his head until he was leaning on his knees which he was hugging. “ _ I need to look good. I want a good reputation.” _ He tried to focus on his breathing. _ “I’ll be like a shadow, or like a smoke, unable to be caught. I’ll become a master thief.” _ He rocked himself slowly back and forth on his heels.

Just when he was starting to feel like he could get his breathing to calm down, a strong gust of wind made the window rattle loudly. Totty felt how his heart jumped to his throat and a new set of traumatizing memories surged to his mind: The building rumbling and heavy pieces of concrete falling to the ground everywhere, able to easily crush anyone under them. The monster roaring. The sick laugh of his torturers’, making him want to throw up or cry hysterically.

Somehow he still detected movement from his left and taking in a sharp breath, he turned to look what it was. His eyes met with another pair of equally scared looking eyes.

Choromatsu had sat up and was looking at Totty in concern. He knit his eyebrows together slightly, asking a wordless question if the youngest was okay.

Todomatsu bit his lip and made a tiny shake with his head. No, he was not okay.

Choromatsu’s frown deepened and he got up quietly. He walked next to Totty, took a gentle hold of his hand and tugged it. Todomatsu complied and got up. Squeezing the youngest hand, Choromatsu started leading them out of the room and to the kitchen.

Turning on the lights and closing the door, the older brother looked at Totty worriedly. “Todomatsu, are you okay?” he asked, this time aloud.

Totty pressed his hand against his chest, feeling how his heart beat fast. He kept his gaze on the ground as he answered. “It’s- it’s just that evening…” he said, his voice a little shaky.

Choromatsu squeezed his hand again. “I know. But hey, we’re safe.” He offered a tiny smile to the youngest, but it wasn’t completely convincing. He led Totty to sit down on a chair and filled up the kettle with water, starting to make tea.

They stayed silent for a few minutes. Todomatsu knew he was being a big baby but he honestly appreciated Choromatsu’s presence. They were in their kitchen and the lights were on. The howling wind didn’t seem as scary anymore. Slowly Totty felt how his heartbeat calmed down and the lump in his throat disappeared.

He followed how Choromatsu rummaged through the cabinets, deciding which tea he wanted. The two of them had started to go outside again around the same time, about a month after the event. Choromatsu was still really anxious, he was looking tired, constantly having dark circles under his eyes, but something had changed. He wasn’t as quiet or jumpy anymore. A week ago he had suddenly announced that he was working for PRT now as well. Karamatsu had gotten a position for him. Totty wasn’t sure what he thought of that, but PRT was a good employer. They were really accepting of different kinds of people, so apparently they were okay with Japanese immigrants as well.

Maybe working in the PRT was doing something good for Choromatsu? At least he had something to focus on. While he was at home, he was busying himself with reading about PRT and so on almost as if he was doing his homework, learning about his employer. Todomatsu didn’t really care as long as he and Karamatsu stayed safe in the storage where they were working.

Choromatsu sat down next to the youngest, placing two cups of steaming tea on the table. He held his cup with both hands, staring at it, brows furrowed. “Do you- do you want to talk about it?” he asked a bit unsure.

Totty shook his head once. “No… Thanks, though, but I don’t want to.” He sighed. “I just can’t talk about it.” He didn’t want to have any sort of anxiety or panic attack. Maybe it wasn’t a very good way to handle his trauma by just avoiding the thoughts of it and focusing on other things, but right now that was working the best for him.

Choromatsu looked at him for a moment, before turning to look at his hands. “Yeah, me neither…” he said quietly.

Both of them took a sip from their tea, then a moment passed in silence again. The third oldest broke it, turning to look at Totty again. “Hey, did you hear about that superhero scandal in France?” he asked.

Totty frowned. “No…? Is it something new?” he asked, meeting Choromatsu’s eyes.

Choromatsu nodded. “Yeah. I read about it yesterday. You’re going to like this,” he said and a small smile appeared on his lips.

Todomatsu returned his smile. A juicy gossip sounded good.

\---

Todomatsu was sitting at a corner of the couch, slightly hunched over his phone. He had over fourty tabs open, all of them showing different pieces of clothing and accessories. He still wasn’t sure of what he wanted his costume to be. He wasn’t too good with his hands, at least not that good that he could make himself a good looking costume from the scratch. Also it was absolutely out of the question to order anything custom made. The risk of someone being able to make the connection of who he was was too high. Protectorate could figure that out immediately.

For him it would work the best if he bought normal clothes from here and there and put a costume together from them. He wanted to look stylish. The ideas of his secret identity that he had were something like a gentleman thief. He smiled a little as he thought of that. He definitely didn’t want to get in trouble with the Protectorate or any local villains. As tempting as fame would be, he should keep a low profile and do only small thefts. He didn’t want to get into any fights. If anyone, parahuman or not, managed to get even one blow at him, it might already be game over for him.

He had to play with the power that he had.

“ _ I want to look good and civilised. People have to be able to tell me apart from other villains.” _ Pictures of costumes with severed body parts worked in them flashed in his mind and he shivered from disgust. “ _ I’ll be nothing like them.” _

Todomatsu turned off his phone and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes for a few seconds. He should take a break. In the evening he’d go out to train, so it’d be for the best if he ate now, so that he wouldn’t have to run with a full stomach.

He got up and pocketed his phone. He passed Ichimatsu, who was laying on the floor doing nothing. The apartment was really quiet with most of the brothers out. Totty left their room, leaving the door only a little cracked after himself.

Excitement tingled on the back of his neck, when he knew he was doing something that he shouldn’t. In a blink of an eye he had teleported a few meters ahead, never losing his pace.

He appeared at a corner where the hallway extended towards the front door. He had only taken one step after teleporting when he suddenly froze, his heart almost stopping.

Karamatsu and Choromatsu were standing right around the corner, less than a meter away from him. The two of them were in a middle hushed conversation, their expressions serious.

The two of them startled just like the youngest and they turned to look at him, eyes wide.

“Todomatsu!” Karamatsu said, eyes wide. “You scared me. I didn’t hear you coming.”

Totty finally managed to change his surprised, deer caught in the headlights look into a nervous smile. He chuckled a little awkwardly. “Karamatsu-niisan, Choromatsu-niisan. I didn’t know you were home already.”

“We just came,” Choromatsu said and relaxed his tensed muscles.

“Is everything okay?” Karamatsu asked, his expression turning into a frown. “You look jumpy.”

“What? Of course,” Totty answered, putting on a smile. “I just didn’t expect you to be back already, so you startled me a little,” he said, already feeling much more at ease. “I’ll be in the kitchen,” he said and walked there.

As he got out of their sight, he sighed deeply but inaudibly. “ _ I have to be much more careful when teleporting,”  _ Totty thought. “ _ I don’t even want to think about the chaos that would start if someone found out my power.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> I really hope all the description was okay and you were able to follow. I really don't know how to write action xD That' a great thing especially when the story progresses... This is a superhero story so I think you can guess there will be action.
> 
> Okay so now the story will go on hiatus.  
Thank you for everyone who has been reading. I can't say how much time I need, a few months at least. The next chapter (whenever that will happen) is again kara pov and then we'll see what niisan has been up to.  
Follow the story, follow me here in ao3 or in twitter @dragonfruitkiss to know when the story continues. From twitter you can also hear updates about my stories, see some wips etc.
> 
> Thank you and hopefully see you soon ^^


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karamatsu's normal days at PRT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!
> 
> Welcome back! My hiatus is over! I hope you're all doing fine. I've been super stressed out and busy with stuff and writing has been really slow and hard at times. However, I managed to get a few chapters written, so I'll be updating this story every other Monday again for now.
> 
> Note! We have moved back in time! This is set about three weeks after the kidnapping while Choromatsu calls the PRT about four weeks after it and the last chapter where Totty was practicing his powers is set about 5-6 weeks after the kidnapping. I decided to do it like this because I wanted to introduce everyone's powers in the beginning. It'll take a long time before we get the next Totty chapter. Right now his fingers are still broken, it takes about month for them to heal.
> 
> Anyway, here's more Kara for you xD
> 
> Betaread by Rustfeather.
> 
> Enjoy!!

“... and so the members of the Protectorate are required to take part in any conflicts where they have been assigned. In the case of S-class threats, such as Endbringers, every hero of the city practically has no choice but to join the battle. However, if, let’s say Endbringer attack happens elsewhere, the heroes have a choice whether or not they want to join the battle. Teleporters come to transfer everyone willing to help to the location. Of course the nature of one’s powers…”

Karamatsu nodded his head every once in a while, showing that he was listening. He had heard this all before when signing his contract, but he guessed it was still important to listen carefully.

He was having private lessons about information that he should know before starting his career as a superhero. His teacher was a woman in her forties, who definitely knew what she was talking about, but Karamatsu found her rather intimidating because of how professional she was.

He had private lessons around two or three times a week which would continue for a few weeks more, then he could learn the rest in practise. On top of that he was also encouraged to attend lectures that the Wards were required to attend. Those were usually once a week. He had been there one time, but it had been hard to follow since he was lacking some basic knowledge and the subject had been about power transmitting from parents to children.

Luckily the Wards’ lectures weren’t always like that, sometimes they were something as normal as first aid classes.

Karamatsu had decided that he should watch online lectures from the PRT’s archives of parahuman studies before he should go to the Wards’ lectures again if the subject was anything that might require foreknowledge. Besides, he was supposed to watch many of those lectures as soon as he just had time and he still hadn’t. It was hard to find time for everything when he still wanted to spend quite a lot of time at home, watching over his brothers.

The teacher continued talking and Karamatsu listened. While the parahuman studies were more academic oriented, his private lectures were, thankfully, focusing on the basic functions of the PRT and the Protectorate. Even if there was a lot to remember, most of it wasn’t that complicated to understand.

Karamatsu nodded and wrote down a note. Then he turned to another piece of paper that he had in front of himself. It was his current ideation paper for his possible cape name. He had a long list of cool adjectives and twice as many nouns that he felt drawn to. In a different paper he had all the possible words related to sounds written down. He was writing most of his notes in Japanese, so no one would actually know whether he was studying or planning other stuff.

He smiled a little at himself. Sometimes it was good to know a language that others didn’t understood.

“However, as important as this subject is, we’re running out of time,” the teacher said and Karamatsu blinked his eyes a few times. His thoughts had gotten quite off track there. “I want you to read these papers before the next time we see,” she said, giving Karamatsu a stack of paper. “Is there anything you’d like to ask?”

Karamatsu stared at the papers in front of him. “Uh, not right now.” He collected his stuff, got up and left the small meeting room, thanking his teacher.

He made his way to the nearest elevator and pressed the button. As Karamatsu waited for it to arrive, he readjusted the mask that he was wearing. The mask was even more fabulous now than before. He had glued plastic jewels on it and on it’s upper left corner he had a few beautiful, large, blue feathers. He knew that the mask was amazing. Too bad his normal clothes didn’t bring justice to it.

The elevator arrived and Karamatsu stepped in, going to the Protectorate quarters. He looked at the pile of papers and notebooks on his arms and sighed a little. He didn’t really like studying. He liked learning stuff, but it was hard to try to focus enough to read long texts, especially in English. Besides, he couldn’t read this stuff at home, so he had to do it while here. That made his days even longer even if he still wasn’t even close to the full time at work.

Karamatsu smiled, amused. It felt so weird. He had a job. He was getting paid for training, studying and planning his hero costume.

It was super cool!

The elevator door opened and Karamatsu walked to the door which led to the Protectorate heroes’ lounge and quarters. He keyed in a code and the door opened for him to step inside.

In the lounge were two heroes, both of whom turned to look at the door as Karamatsu arrived. Dovetail was sitting on the table, papers laid in front of her. She was listening to Astrologer who was standing next to her, a cup of coffee in her hand. Astrologer was in full costume while Dovetail was wearing casual clothes with a mask. Astrologer only gave Karamatsu a curt nod before returning to their conversation.

“Hello,” Karamatsu greeted, taking off his mask now that he was in their quarters. Most of the heroes weren’t yet comfortable enough to reveal their faces to him, which he understood, but he wasn’t that worried about them knowing his identity. They were heroes after all.

“How are you, my teammates?” he asked, walking to them and sitting at the table. He was smiling at the two happily.

Astrologer stared at him for a moment and Karamatsu couldn’t really tell what she was thinking because of her mask. “The same as ever.” She turned to look back at Dovetail and opened her mouth to continue, but Karamatsu beat her to it.

“I wonder if Derek is working today? You don’t happen to know is he?” he asked. “We don’t actually have a meeting today, but his ideas are so inspiring. I just- he really sees who I am and understands my perfect fashion.”

Both of the capes stared at Karamatsu quietly for a moment. “Yeah...“ Astrologer said then. “Anyways, I need to go for a patrol,” she said, drank the rest of her coffee and left the cup on the counter.

“I can’t wait till I’m ready to start helping you. Working as a superhero is so noble. I can’t wait to become like you,” Karamatsu rambled on while Astrologer started walking to the door. “Although, not a simple man such as myself could ever reach your level. Still, I’ll be very happy to provide even some help to you once they see I’m ready.” 

Astrologer didn’t say anything but “later” before she was gone.

“Good luck! I hope everything goes fine!” Karamatsu said after her as the door closed. Then he turned to look at Dovetail. “What are you reading?” he asked, curious and smiling.

The heroine turned to look at him slowly. “News,” she answered before moving her attention back to the paper.   
  
“Oh! Is there anything interesting?” Karamatsu asked. However, before Dovetail could react in any way, he was already continuing: “Actually, I’d like to know what you think about my mask,” he said, placing his beautiful mask on the table and scattering glitter all over. “The base is really basic, but I like the way I’ve modified it. I was thinking maybe I should design my actual mask based on this?” He turned to look at the heroine with shining eyes.

Dovetail stared at him for a moment. Her expression was neutral, but Karamatsu couldn’t see her eyes from her mask. That didn’t bother him, though.

It took Dovetail a long while to answer. “It’s interesting,” she said and turned back to the newspaper.

Karamatsu didn’t let his smile falter even if he felt that the other wanted to be left alone. “Interesting can be good,” he said, grinning, and stood up. His glowing had dimmed some. “It’s good to be memorable.”   
  


Dovetail didn’t lift her gaze up as she mumbled: “Reputation is important.”

Karamatsu smiled. “It sure is,” he said almost to himself as he started walking away. In the corner of the lounge was a door that led to a staircase. He opened the door and walked down the stairs, arriving at another door. He pressed the doorbell and spoke into a door phone: “It’s Karamatsu.”

Karamatsu stared at his feet, holding his mask in his hand, and he had the pile of papers still tucked under his arm. He was worried that his team didn’t like him. He knew people often found him annoying or painful, but he couldn’t help that. He had to stay true to himself. This was finally his time to shine, partly literally!

However, he couldn’t stop worrying that he’d just be bullied here the same way that he was at home. He just wanted to be accepted.

After a short moment Weld cracked the door open to peek into the staircase. He smiled as he saw Karamatsu. “Hi, Karamatsu,” he said.

“Hi,” Karamatsu answered. “Can I come in?” he asked.

“Sure!” Weld said. “It’s me and Reynard here.” He opened the door wider, shouting over his shoulder to the other boy: “It’s Karamatsu.”

“Thanks,” Karamatsu said as he stepped inside and Weld closed the door and it was locked again. The Wards’ quarters were right below the Protectorate heroes’ and they were connected with a private staircase. Both doors of the staircase were locked, so that no one should accidently step into the room if capes were without their masks and they wanted to keep their faces hidden.

“Hi, Kara,” Reynard greeted. He wasn’t wearing his mask. The boy had short, brown hair and a laidback aura even if his eyes always had a curious and playful glint in them.

Karamatsu smiled. “Hey, Reynard. How are you?” he asked. He was happy that many of the Wards were comfortable enough with him that they didn’t bother covering their faces anymore. Also most of them were calling him “Kara” since apparently Karamatsu was too long. He didn’t mind. His friends could call him anything.

“I’m good!” the fox changer answered, swinging on his chair. “Well, school sucks, but that’s how it is. I came here after school since I have a patrol later.”

Karamatsu nodded. “I wish I could join you soon, but it’ll take a bit longer I think,” he said and sat down at the table where Reynard was.

“You’ll be on the field before you know it,” Weld said, leaning on the counter, his arms crossed and a smile on his face.

Reynard let out a laugh. “Yeah, if you can come up with a less hideous design for your costume and decide a name that’s actually usable.”

Karamatsu laughed. “Hey! My costume will be great! You’ll be jealous,” he said, grinning.

“I bet you’re actually just testing how much glitter and sequins you can fit into one PRT approved costume!” Reynard teased.

“No, of course not!” Karamatsu said, but was smiling happily. “I’m serious! What I do is cool!”

“Imagine someone trying to draw attention to themselves on purpose,” Weld commented, a little amused. With a body completely made from metal he got way too much unwanted attention and stares.

“I just- It’s so weird that you’re actually serious,” Reynard said and took Karamatsu’s mask from his hand, putting it on. “I’d never wear this!” he said and stood up.

“You’re wearing it right now,” Weld said.

Karamatsu smiled widely. “It looks great! Although I don’t think blue is the most complimenting color for you,” Karamatsu said. He had to admit to himself that it looked a bit weird when Reynard’s was wearing the highly decorated mask with his normal clothes, but it didn’t lessen the mask’s fabulousness. It was still one of the most beautiful masks that he had ever seen. “I can make you a bronze one if you want,” he offered.

Reynard grimazed. “Ugh, no thanks! I’d rather fight an Endbringer than wear a mask like this in public,” he said, amused.

Karamatsu chuckled at the teasing and flipped his bangs. “You just don’t understand fashion. My fans are going to love my style!”

Reynard was mirroring himself from Weld’s arm, who rolled his eyes. “Your fans will be blind with all this sparkle,” he said and took off the mask, tossing it back to Karamatsu. “But in some odd way I guess this suits you. If you like it, then don’t let anyone stop you from wearing it.”

“He’s right, you know,” Weld said, smiling a small, kind smile. “As long as it’s nothing too provocative.”

Karamatsu smiled at them and laid the mask down, wiping off some glitter from his sleeves. “Thanks, guys!” he said. He really liked the Wards here and they actually seemed to like him back. He could be himself around them and the teasing was not ill willed. He felt like he could belong here.

\---

“No! You’re suppressing my personality!” Karamatsu said, pushing away the costume designs that had been shown to him. His public relations team still didn’t get it. They didn’t dare to be bold enough. Karamatsu needed to shine. “Derek, back me up here.”

The young man had a smug smile as he looked at the rest of the people in the costume meeting. “Karamatsu is right.” It was clear that he was holding back laughter. “The costumes that you’re suggesting aren’t representing his soul,” he said and the corner of his mouth was twitching amusedly. “You need to let him add more glitter if he wants.”

Karamatsu smiled happily at Derek. “Thank you, my friend,” he said.

Emil clenched his fists and took a deep breath before relaxing himself. He was looking at Derek annoyedly. “You know you’re here only because Karamatsu demanded it,” he said. “But I have the power to throw you out of the team anytime.”

“I know that,” Derek said. “But I’m just doing my best to help Karamatsu.” He grinned innocently.

“Yeah… Sure,” Emil said. After a few more seconds of glaring, he turned back to Karamatsu. ”So, tell me. What idea do you have on your mind today?” Two women were sitting next to him, looking like they had lost all hope of ever reaching an agreement on the design. Emil was beginning to lose his hope as well, but he tried to stay patient. Karamatsu didn’t mean anything bad, he was just excited.

Karamatsu’s smile widened. “Here!” he said and took a paper from his pocket, giving it to Emil.

Emil took the paper and opened it. It was a rough sketch of a costume, drawn with a blue glitter pen which he decided not to comment on. He frowned as he looked at the drawing.

It had a fully covering chest armor with a note “ _ fancy pattern, painted glittery blue _ ”. The shoulder armors were ridiculously big with a curvy spike rising up from each of the shoulders almost as ridiculous as the design’s bracelets, covered with long, blue feathers. There were ripped mini shorts, made from blue sequin canvas, matching with similar gloves. To crown it all the sketch had over-knee high, black leather boots.

Emil stared at the picture for a moment and he felt nearly sick. He met Karamatsu’s eyes, shook his head and said: “No.”

Karamatsu frowned. “Why not?”

“This…” How could he say nicely that it was hideous? “This doesn’t go with the brand.”

Derek had stood up and he snatched the sketch from Emil. He took a look at it and started laughing. “Hahahah!! Oh my god!! Karamatsu, this idea is genius!”

“I’m sorry, Karamatsu, but try to think of something else and we’ll see again tomorrow. And no mini shorts,” Emil said. “Have you thought of any new possible names?”

“Yes!” Karamatsu said, his eyes lighting up. “Sparkle passion!” he said, making a pose.

“No.”

\---

Karamatsu was sitting in his room in the Protectorate quarters, reading the papers that his teacher had given him. He really had to concentrate. However, staying still and doing something that wasn’t that exciting, made his thoughts wander.

He had started visiting the PRT nearly every day. Even if he often didn’t stay there for many hours, he was still feeling guilty for not spending enough time at home. He should be there to support his brothers when they needed him. He was worried that he didn’t give enough attention to Choromatsu and Todomatsu who were both staying home entire days. He also realized that he didn’t know how well the other three were doing. He hoped that they were recovering without problems.

Karamatsu sighed and blew away some glitter that was on his desk. He had had superpowers only for a little over three weeks now and he was already feeling how hard it was to balance his normal life and cape life. Whenever he was at home, he kept thinking about hero stuff and whenever he was at PRT, his thoughts returned to his poor brothers.

He sighed again, closing his eyes for a second. He had to finish this paper before he could go home. He just hoped it wouldn’t take much longer and he could see his brothers soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> I really liked writing Kara with the Wards ^^ it's cute that he can be himself with them.
> 
> Nothing much happened in this chapter but I hope you liked it anyways. The next chapter will be about Osomatsu. I know some people have been waiting to find out what he's been doing. xD
> 
> See you in two weeks!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Osomatsu time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!
> 
> Finally we get to see what Osomatsu has been up to.  
Betaread by Rustfeather.
> 
> Enjoy!

“What did you say to me, you little shit?!”

Osomatsu took a hold of the man’s collar, slamming him against a dirty wall of a shady alleyway. The sun had already set and only a couple of dim street lights were trying to light the alley without much success. It was a perfect place for illegal business to take place as well as ill-willed people to lurk - that’s why Osomatsu found himself from there. That was where he belonged.

He hit his fist next to the man’s head and it sunk into the concrete, wrist deep. Pieces of the concrete were grumbling to the ground as Osomatsu glared at the man with a furious look through the eye holes of his mask. It was a cheap, plastic, red oni mask that he had bought a couple of weeks ago when he had started to use his powers more actively. The mask had big, white fangs and sharp horns in addition to the vicious look.

The man in his grasp was gasping for breath even if Osomatsu had been careful not to break any bones. He was struggling and trying to force Osomatsu to open his grip and let go of him, but in vain. The man was actually taller and more muscular than Osomatsu, but he was weak. He was weak like everyone.

“L-let him go, you fucker!”

Osomatsu barely even glanced at two other men that took a hold of him from behind and tried to drag him away from their friend. They didn’t manage to make him move an inch even if they were pulling his arms with their full strength.

Osomatsu clicked his tongue annoyed, gritting his teeth. “You’re irritating me!” he shouted and let go of the man who collapsed to the ground. Then he grabbed a hold of the other two men and threw them away, effortlessly. The men screamed in pain as they hit the hard asphalt that scraped their skin open, quickly drawing blood.

A gun was fired and Osomatsu felt a familiar sting on his back. He turned around, baring his teeth behind his mask and met the eyes of the fourth man, who was pointing a gun at him.

“You bitch!” Osomatsu growled and started walking towards him threateningly. The buff, tattooed men must have thought that they were intimidating and scared people to stay away from these alleyways, but right now they were starting to feel afraid. Osomatsu knew that he looked suddenly threatening to them as he had presented his power and the oni mask was keeping his face hidden, the shadowy atmosphere only adding to the effect.

While the man had looked slightly worried for his friends, but satisfied with the good shot. However, his satisfaction was short lived as Osomatsu started nearing him, not having a scratch. Quickly fear crept on his voice. “Fuck! Why don’t you die?! Fuck!” the man yelled, worry in his voice growing as he shot Osomatsu two more times. That didn’t stop him. He barely even flinched.

“Stay back!!” the man shouted and started running away.

“Coward!” Osomatsu shouted after him and picked up a small piece of concrete that had fallen from the wall where he had punched a hole. He threw it at the man and managed to hit his side. That made him cry out in pain and collapse to the ground, heavily.

Osomatsu sneered, satisfied. He turned around to look at the man who he had pinned against the wall, who was cowering still in the place where he had dropped, hoping that he would be left forgotten. His eyes widened in fear as he met Osomatsu’s dark eyes, glaring at him through the eyeholes.

“That’ll teach you not to call names.” With that Osomatsu turned around and started walking away. He stopped when he reached other one of the men that he had thrown away and stared at him for a few seconds. “Oh, I like your necklace,” he said and leaned down. He took a hold of the pretty shark tooth and pulled, snapping the string broken. The man grimaced a little in pain, but he didn’t dare to move a muscle. “Thanks,” Osomatsu said, stuffing the tooth into his pocket and left the alleyway.

A shiver went through Osomatsu’s body and he grinned. He loved using his powers. He felt so powerful. It was amazing. Of course he could never go all out or he’d kill people left and right, but just showing his superiority made him feel really good.

It made him feel alive like nothing else.

Osomatsu was wearing his blue jeans and a ripped black hoodie that he had stolen. He was wearing many accessories that he had taken from people, who he had beaten, as trophies. He had cool necklaces, rings and random patches that he had torn from jackets and that he had then attached to his hoodie with safety pins. Obviously he was too lazy to sew them. With all these accessories he wanted to show people not to mess with him. He was always wearing his oni mask and black leather gloves not to leave fingerprints.

He didn’t really care about his appearance, he just wanted to look intimidating. Still a lot of people picked up a fight with him and that suited Osomatsu well. He was itching to use his powers, so he always moved in shady areas, intentionally looking for trouble. And trouble he found. People only saw a rather short man walking alone in the places where he shouldn’t be. Just like only a few moments ago he had been walking through an alleyway and ran into the four men. One of them had called him names which had been enough reason for him to beat them up.

Osomatsu knew that he shouldn’t have done these things that he did when outside, but he couldn’t make himself stop. He was just so angry. He was angry at the bastards who had dared to lay their hands on his brothers. His sweet little brothers were innocent and they had been nearly slaughtered. Hell, they had been tortured! They had been actually tortured and they could have died! It felt almost unreal that something like that could’ve happened to them.

However, it was very real and Osomatsu had learned his lesson. He knew now that people with power were bound to abuse it just because they could. But if he was stronger than others, he could protect his brothers, even if he might need to act in morally grey area in order to do that. The people who he beat up were scum and a potential threat to his family.

Almost more than to the damned villains, Osomatsu was furious at himself. It had been over three weeks since their kidnapping, but the guilt was still eating at him mercilessly. Even if most of his brothers seemed to be doing a little better, they were not okay. Osomatsu could see the trauma written all over their faces and their wounds were a constant reminder of how badly everything could have ended. Every moment that he stayed at home, he saw how his brothers were hurting and that felt like a knife was being twisted in his heart.

Osomatsu lifted up his hand and looked at it. He could see a faint line on its back that was a scar from the beating that the parahuman woman had given to him. Back when something still could hurt him. His wounds had healed faster than he had expected. That was of course a good thing for him, but it made him feel even more guilty. Why had his brothers been hurt worse than him, most of them anyways? None of them should have had to ever experience horrors like that.

He balled his hands into fists, clenching his teeth. He wanted to break something again.

Osomatsu hated himself for what he had inflicted on his brothers. He felt so awful. He couldn’t help that guilt turning into anger that was boiling inside of him. For him the way to process and cope with that guilt and anger had become violence and the adrenaline that using his power brought to him. He was so powerful now and it was something that made him feel good in his shitty life.   
  
Osomatsu didn’t really know what he was doing. He knew that looking for fights and beating people up was wrong, but he couldn’t bring himself to care that much. He wasn’t doing anything  _ that _ bad. Mostly he was just beating up random gang members and stealing what he wanted from them, but every now and then he also stole something from stores, mostly food or drinks. He had the strength to do that and not get caught, so why wouldn’t he? The strongest people survived. Osomatsu had been struggling for so long to fit into this society, only to find out that he never could, at least not anymore. Now, however, no one could stop him from doing what he wanted.

He glanced to the side as a car passed him by. He was walking on a quiet street, lazily making his way towards home. His posture was sagged and he had his hands stuffed into his pockets. He moved his gaze back to the pavement.

Nearly everyday he left home to wander around shady alleyways. He wanted revenge. He wanted to hurt those bastards who had put his brothers through that hell. He kept asking if anyone knew anything about The Teeth, but it looked like they had moved into another city again. Well, when they came back, Osomatsu would be ready.

Even if he was hoping to get his revenge, he knew that he was looking for opportunities to use his power just as much. He needed excuses to use his strength.

Osomatsu opened a door into a convenience store, stepping inside. The bright fluorescent lamps were sharp contrast to the dark streets, two of them being like from different worlds. It was getting late and he should go home before anyone would miss him too much or get worried. However, it had been a few days since he had brought anything to his brothers, so today he wasn’t returning empty handed.

He walked straight to the counter. The cashier, a man in his forties with a beard and glasses, froze, his eyes widening in alarm. Osomatsu’s appearance was doing its trick.

Osomatsu placed his elbow on the counter, leaning his head on his hand in a laid-back manner. “Hi. I’ll make this easy for you. Give me a pack of cigarettes and a bag, so I can take some beer and I’ll be on my way,” he said. He was staring at the cashier with unwavering look.

The man returned the stare, looking deep into Osomatsu’s dark eyes. He shook his head, his expression turning firm as he frowned, sternly. “No. I’ll call the cops if you don’t leave now!” he said firmly. Two other customers that were in the store, fell silent and started to follow the situation, frozen.

Osomatsu let out a chuckle. “No, you won’t.” Then he straightened his back, leaning a little over the counter and reaching his open palm to the man. “The cigarettes.” His voice was firmer now.

The cashier narrowed his eyes. With a quick move he took out a gun from a drawer and pointed it at Osomatsu, threateningly. A customer let out a scared sound at that. “Stay still!! I’m going to call the police!” the man ordered.

“For the love of-” Osomatsu groaned, rolling his head on his shoulders. “Does  _ everyone _ in this damn country have a fucking gun?!” He looked back to the cashier and now it was his turn to narrow eyes. “Just put it away,” he said. “Now!”

“Stay still!!” the man demanded, holding the gun with two hands and shoving it a little closer to Osomatsu. His eyes were wide with alarm, but he seemed determined to actually shoot if he had to.

Behind his mask Osomatsu bared his teeth. He lunged forward and got a hold of the gun. He could see the shock and fear appearing into the man’s eyes. Without any effort Osomatsu snatched the gun to himself. He crushed it in his hand into a shape that it definitely wouldn’t work anymore, then he dropped it to the ground with a clatter.

“The cigarettes and the bag,” he said again.

The cashier was staring at him in shock, his mouth open. Osomatsu could see how it dawned to him that he was probably dealing with a cape. Oh, how he loved that expression when people realized that they were screwed. He grinned satisfied. Quickly the man took a pack of cigarettes and a plastic bag and gave them to Osomatsu with a shaking hand.

“Thank you,” Osomatsu said, still grinning behind his mask. He turned around and went to the alcohol shelves, starting to stuff beer cans into the bag. He glanced at the two customers, a young couple, hiding behind a shelf. “Don’t mind me,” he said, chuckling a little. The two of them didn’t dare to say anything, but they flinched as they were spoken to.

When Osomatsu had twelve cans of beer, he started to walk to the door. Before leaving, he waved to the cashier. “Thanks, bye!” Then he was gone.

Osomatsu disappeared back to the shady alleyways, then into a small, unkempt park. He took a bag from his pocket and put his mask, hoodie, gloves and all the accessories into it. He left the bag under certain thick bushes and covered it with a few branches. He didn’t like leaving his stuff there, but he didn’t have a choice if he wanted to keep this secret from his brothers.

He started walking towards home again. Now that the adrenaline rush was over, the gloominess returned. It was horrible to go back to home and see again how much his brothers were hurting, not to mention feeling the suffocating, uncomfortable atmosphere.

After a while Osomatsu opened their front door with a key and stepped into the apartment. “I’m home,” he said, not too loud in case their parents were already sleeping. He took off his shoes and made his way into their shared room.

“Welcome back,” Karamatsu, Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu said when they saw the oldest. Jyushimatsu was smiling as always, but Karamatsu’s smile was missing the joy and Totty didn’t even bother to fake a smile, his eyes glued onto the screen of his phone. Choromatsu, who was sitting in a corner, hugging his knees, flinched and glanced up at Osomatsu before moving his gaze away. Ichimatsu was missing.

Seeing his brothers like that was like a new stab into Osomatsu’s already wounded heart. He wanted to reach out to them, especially to Choromatsu, who barely had recovered at all. He wanted to help them, but he had no idea how to do that. He didn’t know what to say. His brothers should hate him.

He wished that he could tell them that he was going to make the assholes pay for what they had done. Of course he couldn’t do that because he couldn’t get his brothers involved into anything related to his cape life. Also they’d probably beat him to a pulp if they knew some of the stuff that he had done. Well, they’d try.

Osomatsu lifted up the plastic bag. “I brought beer,” he announced and rubbed the underside of his nose, grinning. He had to keep up his cheerful act for the others. It’d be easier for them to heal when their big brother was showing an example.

“Nice, Osomatsu-niisan!” Jyushimatsu said, jumping onto his feet and taking a can.

“Beer sounds really nice,” Totty said, finally moving his gaze from his phone, and Osomatsu tossed him a can.

Karamatsu frowned a bit apologetically. “I shouldn’t drink. I need to go to work tomorrow.”

Osomatsu huffed. “You can always drink one,” he said and shoved a beer to him. Then he turned to look at the corner. “Choromatsu?” he asked.

Choromatsu met his eyes. The look in his eyes was so tired and anxious. He shook his head. “I don’t really know…”

Osomatsu frowned and turned to look at the others. “Where’s Ichimatsu? Why is he out this late?”

Todomatsu glanced up from his phone, raising an eyebrow. “You literally just came back, so I don’t think you have the right to judge him,” he said.

“He should be careful,” Osomatsu stated.

“He left a few hours ago,” Karamatsu said and looked at the clock on their wall. “He should be back soon.”

Osomatsu’s frown deepened. He didn’t like that his brothers were out when it was dark. They couldn’t protect themselves against the bad people that there were way too many. If something happened…

The oldest sighed and went to sit down next to Choromatsu. He opened a beer can and offered it to the third oldest. Choromatsu looked at it and then him unsure, but took the beer when Osomatsu smiled at him kindly. The oldest took a beer for himself as well, opening it and taking a long sip.

He let out a content sigh and smiled happily at Choromatsu. “Come on, drink. It’ll do you some good.”

Choromatsu frowned, but took a sip. Then he sat still, holding the can with both of his hands, his eyes casted down.

Osomatsu bit his lip. He’d give a lot if Choromatsu nagged at him right now. “Are you okay, Choromatsu?” he asked in a lower voice.

Choromatsu shrugged, not looking at him. “I’m okay. Just a bit anxious,” he answered, sounding tired.

“I think you’re a little more anxious than that,” Osomatsu said. “If there’s anything I can help you with, you can just tell me.”

The third born shook his head once. “There’s no need for you to worry about it,” he said quietly.

Osomatsu frowned uneasily and looked to the side. Karamatsu was looking at them, following their conversation and their eyes met. They shared a meaningful look. Both of them were worried about Choromatsu.

The oldest wetted his lips and turned to look back at the brother next to him. “Hey, would you like to go outside with me someday? We could go get lunch or something?” he suggested.

Choromatsu tensed up a little. “I… I don’t know. Maybe someday,” he said, sounding a bit uneasy.

Osomatsu offered him a smile. “Okay, just let me know when you want to go.” Choromatsu hummed in understanding and silence fell between the two of them. Osomatsu bit his lip. There were so many things that he still wanted to say, but he couldn’t get his feelings into words that he could actually say out loud. Instead he just took a sip of his drink and moved his gaze from the younger brother.

God, he felt shitty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I added quite a lot of stuff after the betaread so sorry for stupid mistakes. Next it will be Kara (surprise!) and Ichi. See you in two weeks!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karamatsu is training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!  
Not much to say about this chapter, nothing really happens.  
Betaread by Rustfeather.  
Enjoy!

Karamatsu was standing still, his eyes closed and a focused frown on his face. He was listening to every small voice that he could hear, trying to sort out the important ones and figuring out the exact locations they were coming from. He was much more sensitive to sounds now. He couldn’t hear them from further away than normally, not really, but he felt them in a completely different level. He could nearly touch them with his powers, with his mind. That way he could separate one sound and focus on it even if it was coming from so far away that a normal human probably wouldn’t be able to distinguish the sound. So in a way you could say that his hearing was better.

“ _ Behind me, on the left side.” _

Karamatsu picked the sound of his heartbeat and directed it to the air a few meters above the ground where he had heard a small sound of fabric sliding against fabric. He strengthened the sound of his beating heart, giving it the physical power, but not so strong that it could actually knock anyone down.

“Hit,” Adamant said. He was standing next to the wall of the training hall. Karamatsu’s concentrated frown turned into a small smile.

“Isn’t that enough?” Dovetail, who was Karamatsu’s flying target, asked from the air.

Karamatsu opened his eyes and lifted his eyes up to look at the heroine hovering in the air. “Are you okay?” he asked. They had started the day by training his powers with the wooden targets before they had started this.

Dovetail nodded. “Yes, but I think you’ve proved your abilities.”

“I agree,” Adamant said. “Well done. You have a great understanding of the directions of sounds. You’re able to react to sounds better than an average person which is very good. If you stay focused on the field, not many people should be able to sneak up on you.”

Karamatsu smiled brighter. “Thank you.”

“Not a compliment, just a fact,” Adamant said. Even if his face was hidden behind a mask, Karamatsu could hear a smile in his voice.

“Now let’s see how fast you are,” Dovetail said and the two men turned to look up to her. “I’ll fly fast and you try to hit me.”

Karamatsu took a stance and nodded, looking serious now. Dovetail returned the nod, then she started flying around the huge hall with high speed.

Karamatsu turned his head from side to side, every now and then turning around on his heels as he followed his teammate to fly. If he wanted to, he could just blast the whole hall with a powerful soundwave, but that wasn’t the point of this training. Besides, he’d hit Adamant if he did that. Karamatsu needed to be precise, careful and efficient. He didn’t know when he might face a situation where he needed to use his power in an actual combat and there were many other people who he might accidently hit if the soundwave that he sent was too big. This was his opportunity to practice and gain confidence in his powers.

He picked up the sound of his beating heart once again, strengthening it, while keeping his eyes on the flying heroine. He really liked using his heartbeat. It was really poetic and it was always with him. He barely even had to think about hitting Dovetail when the sound wave already hit her, powerful enough to knock her back a few meters.

“Clear hit,” Adamant said. “How big was the affected area?”

“The area was about the width of a dinner plate,” Karamatsu answered, proud of himself. He knew it was well targeted and even if Dovetail flew fast, she hadn’t had a chance dodging the attack. Besides, when it was his mind controlling his powers, it was able to act before he could make any well-formed commands in his mind.

“Excellent,” Adamant said. “Good job. Try that a few more times.”

Karamatsu did and he hit Dovetail each time. She was a fast flier, but not fast enough. Karamatsu could easily follow her with his eyes and his soundwaves reached her every time.

After some time, Adamant called them to stop. Dovetail flew back on the ground, her breathing a bit faster than normal. Even if using many powers didn’t require them to use their physical power, using them could still wear them out.

“Seems like hitting a target won’t be a problem to you,” Adamant said, crossing his arms, pleased with Karamatsu’s performance.

Karamatsu was glowing visibly despite the bright fluorescent lamps. He shook his head once. “No. It shouldn’t be.”

“Speed of sound attacks. Nice,” Adamant said. “That’s fast. The target in most of the cases won’t have time to dodge.”

“That’s actually 343 meters per second in 20 degrees of Celsius, assuming your power doesn’t change that,” Dovetail said. Karamatsu and Adamant both turned to look at her surprised that she knew something like that and she just shrugged.

Karamatsu’s smile was wide. He had never even thought of that. It was so fast! It was super cool!

“And the thing is that people won’t see your attack,” Adamant continued. “They hear it the moment it hits them, but that won’t help with dodging it. No one but you knows when you attack or how you have directed the sound. People can’t really dodge what they can’t see.”

“And since you can hit the targets even without seeing them, you can attack without turning to look at the enemy and that way letting them know that you might attack,” Dovetail said.

Karamatsu smiled, happily and nodded. “Yes, but if there’s more people, I need to look to be sure that I’m hitting the right person. Unless I can distinguish them from the others by sound only that is. Also if I know that someone is hiding behind a wall or something, I can’t hit them without destroying the wall first. The soundwaves move in straight line from me. And if I’m using the power consciously, not reflexively, I still need to think what I want to do and how I want to use them.”

“You’ll do great,” Adamant said and slapped his hands together. “Okay, that’s enough of that for today. Karamatsu, if you’re not in a hurry to return home, go to the gym and do your sets. Okay?”

Karamatsu nodded his head. “Yes. I have time,” he answered, but could feel guilt stinging his heart. He probably should be home with his brothers. He was investing so much time on his hero life that he was worried that his brothers would feel like he didn’t want to be home or that he didn’t care about them enough. He bit his cheek, but kept the smile on his face. “Thank you for your help. It’s a pleasure working with you,” he said, made a tiny bow with his head and started making his way out of the hall.

Dovetail simply nodded to him. Adamant wished him good luck.

Karamatsu left the training hall and turned to the left before the elevator, opening a door to a locker room. He had left his mask and backpack on a bench there before going to his training. This gym was only for the capes, so he didn’t need to worry about wearing a mask or leaving his stuff laying around.

He took a long sip of water before walking into the gym. He went to the stationary bike and sat on the saddle. It was a good warm up.

Karamatsu started to pedal. When he had started working out, he had realized that he was actually in a better shape than he had thought. His stamina was better than when he had last actually exercised, which had been a good while ago, he admitted.

Karamatsu added the resistance of the bike. He needed to have a good physical strength for his future career.

\---

“Where’s Derek?” Karamatsu asked as he took a seat. He was once again meeting with his PR team in a meeting room on their floor. He frowned as he looked at Emil and the three women who were sitting there with him.

“Derek is busy with other tasks for today,” Emil said, smiling at Karamatsu. “Now, let’s start. Did you prepare any ideas?”

Karamatsu’s frown deepened. “I don’t want to sound rude, but did you tell him not to come?” he asked.

Emil took a deep breath before answering. “Yes. He’s not helping our progress. We have been planning your costume for three weeks already.”

“It’s an important decision,” Karamatsu said. Besides, he wasn’t spending full days there and he had to train and study and do dozens of other things as well. It wasn’t like planning the costume was the only thing he was doing. Though, it had already taken much more time than Karamatsu would have expected but he wasn’t approving a costume unless it was perfect.

“It is, I know that,” Emil said.

“Derek is my friend. I want him to be here,” Karamatsu continued. “He inspires me a lot!”

“I think a little too much,” one of the women said quietly.

“I don’t want to do this without him,” Karamatsu said. “Please, Emil.”

Emil sighed. “Fine. But we need to get some results soon. My superior is getting restless,” he said.

“Thank you!” Karamatsu got up and walked to the door of the small room. Just when he was opening the door, Emil stopped him.

“Mask!”

Karamatsu’s eyes widened. “Right.” He turned around and took his mask from the table. Some pieces of the glitter stuck to his skin. He should add some more soon to preserve the sparkle of his mask. He put it on and opened the door.

“Derek?” he called. A few heads turned to look at him. However, he didn’t spot the man who he was looking for.

“Derek?” he called louder, now using his power to reach every corner of the large office. He was still speaking softly, but his power made his voice louder. Now everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him, most of them surprised, some startled. Some looked at him annoyed.

“Karamatsu?” Derek said as he stood up next to one of the office tables. He started walking to him. “What’s up?” he asked, a bit confused, glancing to his sides as everyone was staring at them.

“You’re missing the meeting. Come!” Karamatsu said, waving with his hand for Derek to come.

A smug smile was creeping on Derek’s face as he followed Karamatsu and stepped into the room. “Hello, team!” he greeted as he took a seat at the table. The four others didn’t even look annoyed, mostly just defeated. They had tried.

Karamatsu was glowing happily as he took his seat again. “Now that we’re all here, we can start.”

Emil sighed before he smiled again and fixed his gaze at Karamatsu. “Alright. So, do you have some ideas to show us?” he asked.

Karamatsu’s smile widened. “Yes! Actually I think this is my best idea yet!” he said, excited.

“Oh dear lord,” one of the women muttered and Emil’s expression said the same thing. Derek on the other hand was happy.

Karamatsu took out a carefully folded paper, opened it and placed it in the middle of the table. Everyone in the room leaned closer to take a look.

It was a bodysuit, made from blue sequin fabric. The neckline was deep, very deep, nearly reaching the belly button, and there were silver lines going around his thighs and his lower stomach. In the sketch there were black boots and black half gloves and on the shoulders were black and white wings. The sketch had a visor, connected to headphones that had wings of the same design than the shoulders, and a huge, white cape was finishing the look. If that wasn’t enough, on his chest he had two rows of loudspeakers going down and one on each of his knees.

“And the visor and the headphones would light up!” Karamatsu finished introducing his idea, pointing at the said parts of the sketch. Smiling brightly, he looked at the others for approval.

The people present in the room stared at the sketch in a complete silence for a few long seconds. Then Emil lifted his eyes to meet with Karamatsu’s.

“Out of all of your ideas this one must be the worst,” he stated.

“It’s horrific,” one of the women said.

Karamatsu’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, come on,” he nearly whined. “Derek?”

The said man was holding a hand over his mouth, shaking slightly as he was trying to hold back his laughter. “I- I think it’s magnificent,” he said, his voice weak and trembling as he tried so hard to keep it even and failing in it. He couldn’t look Karamatsu in the eyes.

Grinning happily, Karamatsu turned to look at Emil. He knew that Derek was messing with him, but he was a good person and Karamatsu’s friend. Messing with him or not, Derek was supporting his ideas and that felt nice. ”Is it a definite no?” he asked.

“Oh yes. Absolutely no.”

Karamatsu sighed and sat down, crossing his legs. “Fine. I’ll think of something else.”

Emil sighed as well. “Thank you.”

“Would you take a look at our ideas?” a middle aged woman from the team asked.

“Sure,” Karamatsu answered, but just as he had expected, none of them were good enough. He refused them after a quick look.

“I’m sorry. They’re just not enough  _ me _ ,” he said. Then he turned to Emil. “Emil, actually I have a request.”

The said man raised his eyebrow. “Yes?” he asked, not letting his worry show in his voice.

“I want a guitar.”

\---

Ichimatsu was crouching on a dark alleyway, surrounded by five cats. He was emitting shadows around himself, but the cats didn’t seem to care. They were purring happily as he offered them pieces of dry cat food, meowing when they asked for more. Ichimatsu smiled at them fondly, giving a pretty black and white cat a few pets as she placed her front paws on top of his thighs and pushed his chest with her head.

Ichimatsu was wearing a black, skin tight costume that he had sewed together from pants and a shirt meant for sports. On his waist he had a purple belt where he had tied a few pouches where he could keep stuff, such as cat food or stolen wallets, easily. Covering most of his face, he had a long, wide, black scarf which other end he had tossed over his shoulder and it was now following after him nearly in a similar manner than a cape would. He was also wearing new, dark purple gloves and purple boots. All of the parts he had bought from different stores, so no one should be able to track him down based on the purchases that he had made.

His costume was still a work in progress, but he was slowly getting there. He was using a costume design that he had made when he had been still a kid, dreaming of getting superpowers. He still liked the design and no one would know it was him, so it was okay. If someone  _ would _ recognize him in costume, he’d die from embarrassment.

Ichimatsu straightened his back, standing up. He smiled at the cats and tossed a little more food for them. He was happy that he no longer had to worry about whether or not he had money to buy them food. Their family didn’t have that much and he always felt kind of bad when he stole a can of tuna or something to feed his friends. Now that was history and his cat friends would no longer be hungry. Thanks to his new powers, he could help them better.

Ichimatsu let the shadow under him grow and spread before a second later, he disappeared, melting into it.

As a part of the shadow, he moved from the alleyway to another, crossing a road. Street lights were attempting to limit the spread of his shadows and he let most of them disappear, so that he could move as unnoticeably as possible.

Once at the other alleyway, he let his shadows spread again and fill every surface near him. In the shadows Ichimatsu started crawling up the side of the building. When he was on the top of it, he emerged from the shadows, staying low and crouched down.

He studied the surroundings for a while, seeing if he could find any trouble or alternatively cats. When he saw a familiar figure walking towards their home, he pressed his body even lower against the roof.

Ichimatsu submerged into the shadows and left the rooftop. He slid his way through a street until he reached an alleyway where he had been going. Making sure that it was covered in shadows, so that it would be hard to see him, he appeared, kneeling behind a dumpster. With an intent stare he followed how Osomatsu walked along the street, clearly not worried at all that he was out so late.

Ichimatsu bit his lip. He didn’t like it when his brothers were out while it was dark. It was dangerous. He would know since he had beat up so many suspicious people who he had found around their neighbourhood. None of his family members should be out at this hour.

Osomatsu would be safe if he was close to their home because Ichimatsu didn’t let anyone suspicious stay there. However, when the oldest went further, he was out of the territory that Ichimatsu had claimed and he might find himself in danger.

Huffing silently, Ichimatsu started to follow him from the shadows. He’d make sure that his idiot brother got home safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading ^^  
The costume that Kara suggests is his hero costume from hesokuri wars.  
See you soon!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jyushimatsu is having fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!  
Here's the next chapter. It's very simple, but it holds a lot of new info about Jyushimatsu's powers.  
Betaread by Rustfeather.  
Enjoy!!

“Muscle, muscle, muscle, muscle-” Jyushimatsu chanted as he ran around one of his favourite fields for baseball playing. A group of teenagers, who had been playing with a soccer ball, were quickly running away from the field. It was a bit of a shame. Jyushimatsu didn’t mind if other people were using the field at the same time with him, it was meant to be used after all, but everyone seemed to always leave or go follow his training from the side when he started.

As he ran, the yellow trail was following him. It was a meter or two long, almost like an after image of him, but no matter what he was wearing, it was always bright yellow. It appeared when he ran fast enough and disappeared when he slowed down. Dust was whirling in the air after him as he went.

Jyushimatsu was wearing his yellow overalls, the collar pulled up and hiding the lower part of his face. He was also wearing his trusted traffic cone that somehow stayed on his head and didn’t fall despite the high speed. His baseball clothes were dirty again, but these were just as good.

After Jyushimatsu had run around the field for twenty times, which didn’t take long for him, he stopped, breathing a bit heavier. He loved running! It was amazing and he was so good at it! Laughing happily to himself, he picked up his bat and started swinging it.

“One! Two! Three! Four!”

Jyushimatsu liked his daily routine. He loved good exercise. And he loved that here in the fields he didn’t have to hide his powers.

“Five hundred sixty two! Five hundred sixty three!”

In the middle of his swings Jyushimatsu glanced to the side and saw how a small group of people had again gathered to look at him with cameras. It still felt weird that he gathered so many curious eyes. Then again, he supposed he would have been curious as well if he saw a cape playing baseball. He would have wanted to play as well.

Jyushimatsu stopped swinging the bat as he registered the thought. Maybe these people wanted to join him?

In a blink of an eye he had run to the group. The people jumped back surprised, a couple of them leaving while the others stayed put. Jyushimatsu stood about ten meters from the people, smiling at them brightly. He cocked his head to the side. “Do you want to play?” he asked.

The people shared unsure glances.

“I think we’re good,” one of them, a man in his thirties, answered. The others nodded, agreeing.

“Oh,” Jyushimatsu said. “Okay then.” With that he turned around on his heels and dashed away, back to his bat that he had tossed away just a moment ago. He picked it up again, but just as he was starting to practice swings again, he halted.

“ _ I lost the count. Oh, well. _ ”

“One! Two! Three!”

That went on for quite a while. Jyushimatsu swung his bat again and again and the group of people stayed there, watching. He was having fun. He had so much energy that he had to let out and staying inside wasn’t nearly enough for that, even less now that he needed so much extra exercise to feel it in his muscles.

When he reached one thousand, he dropped the bat and picked up his ball and glove, putting it on. It was too bad that he couldn’t pitch to himself. He could pitch the ball and ran to the strike zone faster than it flew there, but that wouldn’t leave him enough time to get into a proper stance to hit the ball. He had to settle for playing catch with himself.

Jyushimatsu moved his hand that was holding the ball, behind, then threw the ball with all of his force. Without wasting a second, he sprinted into a run. He could throw almost 80 meters which was pretty far in his mind. It would be a nice distance to run.

He ran fast enough to bypass the flying ball, laughing happily as he did that. He let out an excited shout as he turned around and caught it in his glove.

Jyushimatsu’s smile widened and he started cheering. “Yay!! Muscle muscle! Hustle hustle!” he shouted as he jumped up and down happily. Automatically he glanced to the side where the group of people were. Most of them were filming or taking pictures, many of them muttering something to each other.

Jyushimatsu tilted his head a little to the side. Those people were weird.

He threw the ball again, dashed into a run and caught it on the other side of the field. He threw it again and caught it, then again.

The fifth time that Jyushimatsu caught the ball, he stopped laughing as he realized that two people were walking towards him. They were not any of the curious onlookers, no, they were gang members.

Jyushimatsu turned to face them. One of them he had seen before, but the other one was new. They must have been from the same gang that had been constantly trying to recruit him for the past week. A week ago when he had met their member for the first time, he had followed him for a couple of blocks before he had gotten bored and ran back to the field, made a few laps around it and then he had returned home. He knew that that had made them a bit mad, but honestly it was kind of funny.

He knew that the gang wanted him. He knew that it irritated them so much that they couldn’t keep up with him and that he didn’t want to follow them. There wasn’t much they could do about it. Jyushimatsu didn’t care about using his powers for getting money. Money was good, but he just wanted to enjoy running. He wanted to have fun and he knew that he shouldn’t get mixed up with any gangs. It was okay as long as the gang members only came to talk to him, they were polite enough, but he wasn’t interested in their offerings.

Jyushimatsu started waving at the two men. “Hello!! Do you wanna play?” he asked, smiling widely.

“Good afternoon,” the man that he could recognize said, stopping a few meters from him and crossing his arms. The other man stopped as well. “We didn’t come here to play.”

“That’s a shame,” Jyushimatsu answered, playing with the ball in his hands.

“You know,” the man started. “We’re starting to get tired of waiting. It’s rude for you to always run away and never visit us even if we keep inviting you so kindly.” He was staring at Jyushimatsu intently. “We might not ask as nicely later.”

Jyushimatsu only smiled at the two of them. “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested. I just wanna play baseball.”

“I get that, you’re a baseball freak. However, I’m not sure that you understand that if you come with us, you’ll be playing in a much bigger and more interesting game.” The man took a step closer and Jyushimatsu felt how his muscles tensed up slightly.

“Baseball is the best game! I don’t need anything else,” he said, his smile as bright as ever.

The man sighed. “How about we do this. You follow us to meet our friends. Once we’ve gotten to know each other, we can play baseball together,” he suggested.

“We’d play baseball together?” Jyushimatsu asked.

“Yes, we’d play baseball,” the man answered, a grin spreading on his face. “You can have an actual game.”

“That sounds fun!” Jyushimatsu said.

“Right? Let’s go then.” The two men turned around, starting to walk away, but looking over their shoulders that Jyushimatsu followed.

Smiling, the second youngest Matsuno started to follow them. “ _ I know these people are bad news, but I want to use my powers for fun.”  _ Behind his high collar, his smile turned into a grin.

It had been a beautiful, sunny day. Jyushimatsu felt so full of energy. It wasn’t just how he felt, he was literally full of energy, like a battery, and it was ready to burst out at any moment.

Jyushimatsu focused on feeling the energy inside of his body better. It responded to him, gathering together and strengthening the feeling. Jyushimatsu couldn’t help his smile widening. This was the best part.

Suddenly a powerful flash of light left his body. The strength of the light energy resembled that of a stun grenade, but the sound was much weaker, not loud enough to hurt or leave ears ringing even for a moment. The sudden flash of light blinded everyone near Jyushimatsu, which would last for a few seconds, leaving them disoriented with an afterimage for a while longer.

The two gang members and a couple of passers by shouted in surprise and fear, most of them falling and dropping to the ground where they struggled and screamed, clueless of what was happening.

Instantly after the flash Jyushimatsu dashed to a group of three people who had happened to be walking by. He frowned a bit, not happy that he was running slower now, not much, but still clearly slower. He didn’t like using the flash of light too often because it slowed his running speed. Although it was fun every now and then.

“I’m sorry. You’ll be fine after a while, don’t worry,” Jyushimatsu said to the three to reassure them.

“Argh!! Fucking hell!!” “What the fuck?!”

The second youngest Matsuno turned to glance at the two swearing gang members. They were cursing as much as they could, struggling to get back on their feet and taking out their guns.

“ _ They’ll be fine.” _

Jyushimatsu ran to his baseball bat and picked it up from the run. He was laughing as he ran away from the field, disappearing quickly.

Jyushimatsu ran through the streets, this time a bit more carefully with the cars that were honking at him every time he crossed a street or zigzagged in between them.

He laughed still as he glanced up to the sky. The sun was still shining. It’d slowly recharge his energy and increase his speed back to normal - or what was normal for him now.

Once he got closer to their neighbourhood, he slowed down, starting to walk instead of running. He wondered briefly if the gang members would be angry with him. Well, no matter, they could never catch him.

\---

Karamatsu was flipping his bangs as he posed in front of his PR team. “Admit it, you like them,” he said, sounding satisfied. He was wearing new gloves that he had painted with blue glitter paint. They were glimmering under the fluorescent lamps.

“Glitter paint,” a young woman said, staring at the gloves deadpanned. “Of course it’s glitter paint.”

“It’s-” Emil started, trying to find the words. “It’s very… you.”

Karamatsu grinned. “Thank you,” he said and sat down at the table. He had learned to take nearly everything as a compliment.

“The gloves are perfect,” Derek said, grinning at the other side of the room. “Do you want tea?” he then asked, turning to take two cups from a side table.

“Sure! Thank you,” Karamatsu said, smiling brightly at his friend.

“Alright, why don’t we start by looking at your idea?” Emil said a bit tiredly. “You have a sketch, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course,” Karamatsu answered, taking a slightly crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. He opened it and placed it on the table. Everyone in the room leaned closer to take a look.

There was a moment of silence, then the members of the PR team shared looks. Karamatsu’s smile didn’t falter as he waited for their judgement. After a short while Emil turned to look at Karamatsu.

“Okay. This works,” he said.

Karamatsu’s eyes widened. “Really?!” he asked, hardly believing his ears.

Emil smiled. “Yes. With slight alterations it should be okay. Karamatsu, I’m really happy about this,” he said.

Karamatsu’s skin had started to glow noticeably. “I can have this costume?!”

Emil chuckled a little. “Yes. As soon as we can get it done.”

Karamatsu’s smile only got wider, his glow growing. He was going to get a costume that he had designed himself!! It was like a dream come true. “Thank you so much!! You don’t know how much this means to me!”

One of the women sighed, relieved. “I’m glad this is now decided. We can finally get to work with actually making the costume.”

Derek turned to meet Karamatsu’s eyes. “It’s a good design. Surely, the costume will look unique, but it’ll suit you really well,” he said, smiling genuinely.

“Thank you. I’ll do my best to be worth it,” Karamatsu said, hardly able to control his excitement..

“Now we can seriously move onto deciding your cape name,” Emil said, grimacing good-naturedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!  
I hope you liked the chapter. Kara freaking finally got his costume decided. You'll get the describtion when it's ready and he's posing in it xD  
The next chapter is an interlude! You'll see then what that means ;)  
See you!


	17. Interlude I: Parahumans Online

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short interlude revealing some of the discussion that people are having online about some of our favourite capes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
First of all, I skipped the last round of proofreading so sorry if there's more mistakes than usual.
> 
> Parahumans Online is the probably biggest and most popular website about parahumans. There's news, discussion forums, cape wiki, private chat etc.
> 
> This is the first interlude that this story will have, but there will be more. They're just to change to pov from someone else than the boys. Oh! And here the format is copying how Parahumans Online discussions are written in "Worm". Oh! And do you know how hard it is to come up with usernames. Well, I was watching Harry Potter with my siblings and I was just looking around the room for ideas and writing the stupidest of usernames. Actually it was kinda fun xD But sorry about those.
> 
> Betaread by Rustfeather.
> 
> Enjoy!

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**♦Topic: Cape playing baseball?!?!**

**In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Boston**

**Ihqumado** (Original Poster)

Posted on April 18:

The weirdest thing happened today!! I was walking down the street, going to a supermarket when I was passing by a field and I saw a man running at a superhuman speed there! He was clearly a cape, but he wasn’t wearing a mask, only a high collar, covering half of his face, and a traffic cone on his head. It was crazy! I was curious, so I went closer. He is really fast! Like  _ really _ ! After running for awhile, he started swinging a baseball bat, counting the swings out loud! I don’t know if he was practicing for baseball or what, but it was really weird. A few more people gathered to observe him and then he just ran away, disappearing behind the buildings.

I tried to find the cape from here and all across the internet to know who he is, but I couldn’t find anything. Is he new? Did he come from somewhere else? Can someone tell me if they know anything about him??

I took some pictures of him that you can see from my profile’s folder here [LINK].

**(Showing page 31 of 32)**

**► -Chilicake-**

Replied on April 25:

I still think you should go talk to him! From the discussions and videos he doesn’t seem hostile.

**►XIIpatchwork**

Replied on April 25:

Why don’t you go yourself?

**► -Chilicake-**

Replied on April 25:

I would if I lived there

**► Kicking_Snake**

Replied on April 25:

No one should go near him. He’s still a cape even if he seems harmless. We need to wait for the authorities to act and confirm whether he’s safe or not.

**► Screamingtoaster**

Replied on April 25:

But the authorities aren’t doing anything, a bunch of idiots they are

**► Lynxxxhowl ** (Veteran Member)

Replied on April 25:

I’m wondering about that too. Why don’t they act? I mean, he’s spotted somewhere nearly everyday. Have they talked to him even once?

**► Ihqumado ** (Original Poster)

Replied on April 25:

Not that we know of

**► _GIVE_ME_THE_JUICE_**

Replied on April 25:

Why haven’t they done anything?

**► xNxOxBxOxDxYx**

Replied on April 25:

No clue

**► Shattering_jelly**

Replied on April 26: 

BATTER SPOTTED AT THE FIELD NEXT TO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!!

**► Lynxxxhowl ** (Veteran Member)

Replied on April 26: 

Really?! How long has he been there?

**► Screamingtoaster**

Replied on April 26: 

Can you stream???

**► Potatoootoe**

Replied on April 26: 

Take pictures!

**► Potatoootoe**

Replied on April 26: 

or video

**► Shattering_jelly**

Replied on April 26: 

He’s counting at 179

**► Ihqumado** (Original Poster)

Replied on April 26: 

Fuck I’m at work!

**► Lynxxxhowl ** (Veteran Member)

Replied on April 26: 

I’m on my way!!

**► Screamingtoaster**

Replied on April 26: 

Shattering_jelly can you stream??

**► Lynxxxhowl ** (Veteran Member)

Replied on April 26: 

Here’s link to my new pics and videos [LINK]

**► Shattering_jelly**

Replied on April 26: 

Mine [LINK]

**End of Page. ** **1** **, ** **2** **, ** **3** ** ... ** **30** **, 31, ** **32**

■

**♦Topic: Cape playing baseball?!?!**

**In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Boston**

**Ihqumado** (Original Poster)

Posted on April 18:

The weirdest thing happened today!! I was walking down the street, going to a supermarket when I was passing by a field and I saw a man running in a superhuman speed there! He was clearly a cape but he wasn’t wearing a mask, only a high collar, covering half of his face, and a traffic cone on his head. It was crazy! I was curious so I went closer. He is really fast! Like really! After running for awhile, he started swinging a baseball bat, counting the swings out loud! I don’t know if he was practicing for baseball or what but it was really weird. A few more people gathered to observe him and then he just ran away, disappearing.

I tried to find the cape from the internet to know who he is but I couldn’t find anything. Is he new? Did he come from somewhere else? Can someone tell me if they know something about him??

I took some pictures of him that you can see from my profile’s folder here [LINK].

**(Showing page 32 of 32)**

**► Alice7 ** (Wiki Warrior)

Replied on April 26: 

Okay so, I called PRT when I saw Batter today to let them know the location. They told that they’d sent someone to check the situation, but no one arrived before Batter was gone already. I feel like they don’t take the pictures or videos sent to them seriously. Do you think that they think it as a joke?

**► XIIpatchwork**

Replied on April 26: 

Yeah. I think they think that it’s just a joke played on them.

**► fish_tank_boy**

Replied on April 26: 

wtf? but there’s videos and everything!

**► koireee**

Replied on April 26: 

Yeah but think about it. A cape running around and playing baseball. It does kinda sound like a joke.

**► alienfrikinqueen**

Replied on April 26: 

He is a joke.

**► PottedPlantParty**

Replied on April 26: 

He’s perfect!! <333

**► Cutting-my-hair**

Replied on April 26: 

He’s fucking amazing!!

**► Kicking_Snake**

Replied on April 26: 

But seriously couldn’t they even go check if he exists or not? It wouldn’t take that much time and they could actually see that holy fuck this guy is real! There really is a baseball freak cape running around without any control. Something bad is bound to happen.

**► fish_tank_boy**

Replied on April 26: 

What do you mean?

**► Kicking_Snake**

Replied on April 26: 

Capes are unstable. PRT needs to make sure that they’re controlling him.

**► PottedPlantParty**

Replied on April 26: 

I don’t think Batter would hurt anyone. He’s always so happy.

**► Alice7 ** (Wiki Warrior)

Replied on April 26: 

Me neither but he looks kinda careless. I think he could hurt people by accident. Imagine him causing a car accident or running into people. They’d die, maybe him too.

**► fish_tank_boy**

Replied on April 26: 

Oh. you have a point

**► Smellingyoursock**

Replied on April 26: 

What do you think would happen if he ran into a wall?

**► alienfrikinqueen**

Replied on April 26: 

Pancake

**► Alice7 ** (Wiki Warrior)

Replied on April 26: 

He’d die unless his power is prepared to protect him from that. Capes often have something that prevents them from hurting themselves.

**End of Page. ** **1** **, ** **2** **, ** **3** ** ... ** **30** **, ** **31** **, 32**

■

**♦Topic: Batter and the gang members**

**In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Boston**

**dreamstateshadow ** (Original Poster)

Posted on April 23:

I’m starting a new discussion about this. Batter, the new cape who’s playing baseball, was spotted first time five days ago. Since then he has been approached by some people, presumably gang members, at least three times. I’m really worried about this because Batter seems kind of a simple person. I don’t want his power to get into wrong hands.

**(Showing page 4 of 4)**

**► sweet!sweet!pea**

Replied on April 24:

He was spotted again, just practicing his swings like always. A suspicious looking man approached him again and they talked for a while. Then Batter suddenly ran away disappearing.

**► RiesuRiepu**

Replied on April 24:

I think he maybe knows that they’re bad people?

**► Cutting-my-hair**

Replied on April 24:

Yeah, but Batter seems like a person who’s easy to fool into something or just threaten him. He’s so cute, I don’t want anything bad to happen to him!

**► zerahz**

Replied on April 24:

Where the fuck are the heroes?! They should go recruit him before the villains do!

**► Kicking_Snake**

Replied on April 24:

Agreed

**► PottedPlantParty**

Replied on April 24:

Noooo!! I don’t want him to become a bad guy!

**► zerahz**

Replied on April 25:

Fucking PRT, don’t they understand that they have to hurry

**► Behindyourwindow**

Replied on April 25:

PRT has been busy with other things lately, at least from what I’ve heard from my boyfriend who works there.

**► RiesuRiepu**

Replied on April 25:

Can’t he do anything? Tell them to go talk to Batter??

**► Behindyourwindow**

Replied on April 25:

He only does paper work there and doesn’t have any influence. He talks with the coworkers but they can’t do anything about it. This needs to reach the attention of the higher ups.

**► alienfrikinqueen**

Replied on April 25:

The system is rotten if they don’t even know about Batter

**► Ihqumado**

Replied on April 26:

HE USED SOME SORT OF BRIGHT FLASH TO KNOCK DOWN THE GANG MEMBERS(?) AND RAN AWAY!! HAHAHAHAH

**► SupssipS**

Replied on April 26:

What?! hahahah!! Can he do that?!

**► koireee**

Replied on April 26:

Are you sure he didn’t just have a stun grenade?

**► Lynxxxhowl** (Veteran Member)

Replied on April 26:

It wasn’t loud. The voice was kinda as loud as a balloon breaking

**► SupssipS**

Replied on April 26:

Hahahah!! You go Batter!!

**End of Page. ** **1** **, ** **2** **, ** **3** **, 4**

■

**♦Topic: NEW CAPE IN BOSTON PROTECTORATE**

**In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Boston**

**sayonaraBitch ** (Original Poster) (The Guy in the Know)

Posted on April 29:

My friend works in PRT and they told me that there’s a new cape there who had joined the Protectorate!! Apparently the new hero is pretty strong, but my friend didn’t know their power yet. My friend said they seem very interesting. An official announcement should come out within a week or two probably.

**(Showing page 1 of 1)**

**► Screamingtoaster**

Replied on April 29:

Yes!!

Tell us more!!

**► dreamstateshadow**

Replied on April 29:

Yes sayonaraBitch!! Giving us leaks from the prt again, love u! 

**► eatingwrappingpapers**

Replied on April 29:

They’re going to the protectorate, not wards?

**► sayonaraBitch**

Replied on April 29:

Yeah, my friend was sure of that!

lolol, I’m just doing my best to cater you with the juicy rumors and gossip as always ;)

**► Lynxxxhowl** (Veteran Member)

Replied on April 29:

Thank you!! I’m really curious to find out who the new cape is!

**► Ihqumado**

Replied on April 29:

Excited!!

**► Masterplant**

Replied on April 29:

There’s so many new capes in Boston. Is something attracting them here? Is something going on? What PRT isn’t telling us?

**► Kicking_Snake**

Replied on April 29:

I agree. Many new capes never promise anything good. It’s disturbing the balance.

**End of Page. 1**

■

**♦Topic: Fuck you villain robbing my store!!!**

**In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Boston**

**Lalalandmine ** (Original Poster)

Posted on May 2:

Fuck you bitch!! I don’t know who you are but fuck you!!

**(Showing page 1 of 1)**

**► Bubblegum_princess2**

Replied on May 2:

What happened?

**► Lalalandmine ** (Original Poster)

Replied on May 2:

Some guy wearing a devil mask came to my store and stole a bunch of stuff. Luckily only food stuff, alcohol and cigarettes but still, fucking asshole!

**► RiesuRiepu**

Replied on May 2:

Are you sure he was a cape?

**► Lalalandmine ** (Original Poster)

Replied on May 2:

Yeah! I hit him with a crowbar to his back and he didn’t even flinch. He took it from me, sounding annoyed and bent it like it was iron wire, folding it in half. 

**► Alice7 ** (Wiki Warrior)

Replied on May 2:

Sounds like Red Devil. He wears clothes that are supposed to look intimidating and wears a red oni mask. To our knowledge he hasn’t hurt people, but he steals a lot of beer and stuff. Avoid him. He seems like a cape who could resort to violence.

Here’s a link to a discussion about him. [LINK]

We don’t know much about him but there’s something.

**► Lynxxxhowl**

Replied on May 2:

Does prt know about him?

**► Alice7 ** (Wiki Warrior)

Replied on May 2:

Not that I know of. I’m not sure they are aware of him.

**► _GIVE_ME_THE_JUICE_**

Replied on May 2:

They should be.

**End of Page. 1**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading.
> 
> So, people know Jyushi by the name Batter, Osomatsu is much less known but he's called Red Devil. At this point of time, Choro and Totty are still at home.
> 
> But hey, next chapter will be Choro and he'll be going tooo the protectorate!
> 
> I'm already warning you that I have only two more chapters ready for you, then I'll again have hiatus with the story and I'll write new chapters. However, I haven't been really writing lately, I've been distracted, so I have no idea how long the hiatus will be.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choromatsu is supposed to go to the PRT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!
> 
> I actually like how this chapter turned out! Hope you like it too!  
Betaread by Rustfeather.
> 
> Enjoy!!

Choromatsu breathed in, held the breath for a couple of seconds, then breathed out. He repeated the process again and again and again, trying his best to stay calm and not to panic. It was really hard.

The lump in his throat was attempting to block his air flow and every now and then he really had to force himself to swallow it down only for it to come back the next second. Nearly every other minute he felt like he couldn’t breath and he had to lean a little forward until he managed to get a gasp of breath. He tried to focus on breathing calmly, but his mind was frantically giving him reasons why this was a very bad idea and how badly it could go wrong - why he should leave.

He was waiting in the park where the PRT employees should come to pick him up. He was standing behind a tree from where he could easily see the parking lot, but he could hide easily. Choromatsu was wearing his normal jeans, a plain, red hoodie that didn’t have their family emblem, which he had borrowed from Osomatsu without asking, and black gloves. He had the hood up, covering his hair and nearly his eyes. On his face he was wearing a black mask that covered everything above his mouth and had black lenses to hide his eyes. Thankfully different kinds of masks were common products in costume shops and no one could see anything suspicious in buying one.

Choromatsu glanced at his prepaid phone to check the time. It was 11:23. Seven more minutes. He had decided to take the phone with him just in case if he needed to call for help or something.

His mouth was dry and he swallowed.

“ _ I wish I had some water.” _

Just as Choromatsu closed his eyes, taking another deep breath, he heard a car drive to the parking lot and he opened his eyes with a startle. The car had the PRT logo on its side.

Choromatsu felt his heart skip a beat and then sped up even more. His breathing got faster and shallow.

“ _ Fuck, fuck, fuck!” _

He hid behind the tree, leaning his back against it. He breathed in through his nose, then blew the air out from his mouth, repeating that for many times as calmly as he could.

He could hear a car door open, which made his heart jump into his throat. Nervously he peeked a glance and saw a woman in her forties, standing next to the car, looking around, then taking out her phone and moving her attention to it.

Choromatsu moved to lean against the tree again with his back. He rubbed his face with his palms, pressing his lips together hard.

“ _ Am I really doing this? What if something goes really wrong? Are they really from PRT? Will they let me leave whenever I want to? Am I making a huge mistake? Should I just go home?” _

He took a few more deep breaths. “ _ No, I should just do it. I’ll go crazy if I’m alone with this secret for any longer. I need someone to talk to, so that I can figure out what the hell I should do.” _

Choromatsu clenched his fists and pulled the hood even further down, then he stepped into the sight from behind the tree. He felt like he could throw up as he walked towards the car. The woman lifted her head up, looking at him. A smile appeared on her face and she walked a few steps towards him.

“Good day,” she said as Choromatsu was getting closer to her. She had dark skin and beautiful, wavy hair and she was wearing formal, dark clothes.

Choromatsu swallowed. His every muscle was tensed, ready to help him escape at any moment. He stopped nervously around four meters from the woman, feeling anxious. He opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say. He glanced at the car, but the windows were darkened.

“Are you okay?”

Choromatsu turned to look at the woman again, seeing that she was frowning slightly in concern.

“I’m… I’m nervous,” he managed to say.

The woman smiled at him reassuringly. “That’s understandable. Can you state your business? It’s a part of the protocol.”

“Oh… right,” Choromatsu said, remembering what he was supposed to say. “I called PRT yesterday and you were supposed to pick me up half past eleven.”

The woman’s smile widened slightly and she nodded. “Thank you. Would you like to come into the car, so we can talk in peace?” she asked.

Choromatsu swallowed. It took him a moment to answer. “Can I see who’s inside of the car first?”

“Of course!” the woman answered. “Do you want them to step out of the car? That might however attract attention.”

“No, if I can just take a look before coming inside?”

“Sure,” the woman said. She started walking back to the car, Choromatsu following her. She opened the door to the backseat and the front door of the same side was opened by a PRT officer who was sitting at the shotgun. The officer was wearing a full uniform with a containment foam gun.

Choromatsu froze more alarmed than before. The officer scared him and made him feel even less safe.

The others saw his fear clearly. The officer took off the helmet and Choromatsu saw that it was a young woman with cropped, blond hair and a nose ring. “Don’t worry. No one will hurt you unless you try something.” She sounded kind and smiled at him reassuringly.

“That’s true,” the first woman said. “It’s only me, Nea,” the officer lifted a couple of fingers slightly up, “and the driver.” Moving his gaze from the officer’s gear, Choromatsu saw the driver who was a man, clearly older than he was.

Choromatsu swallowed and took a few small steps closer. He was ready to run at all times. Now he saw clearly the insides of the car. Everything looked normal, like it should. However, they had tinker technology so anything was possible.

“We can also talk here if you’re more comfortable with that,” the first woman said, her voice making Choromatsu jump a little. He turned to look at her and saw how she smiled at him reassuringly.

Choromatsu’s heart was beating fast, adrenaline rushing through his body. He swallowed, unsure of what he should do. It’d probably be for the best if he just went with them already, but what if something bad happened? There were so many what-if’s. He just had to trust them.

A car turned to the parking lot, startling Choromatsu as it drove closer. He took a quick look at it, then hid his face better with the hood. The park was normally really quiet, that’s why he had chosen it. He didn’t want anyone to see him when he was wearing a mask and acting so suspiciously.

“I don’t want to be seen,” Choromatsu said quickly, walking to the woman who was standing right next to the car. “Can I get in?”

“Of course!”

Choromatsu climbed in and the woman closed the door after him.

As soon as the door closed after him, Choromatsu gasped inaudibly, his throat hitching shut. He was trapped! He was inside a car with people who knew that he was a cape! They had weapons! What if they wanted to capture or hurt him?! His breathing had gotten faster again. He was turning his head quickly, looking around in the car, first at the closed door on his side, then at the two people in front of him, then again at the door, then his surroundings and so on.

“Hey, it’s okay,” the officer, Nea, said, reassuringly.

The dark skinned woman opened the door on the other side of Choromatsu, getting in. “Now we can talk in peace,” she said, closing the door. “I’m Rose Hastings. I’m glad to meet you. Our driver here is Pete.”

Choromatsu nodded, unable to get words out of his mouth. He glanced at the containment foam gun, then at the door next to him.

“I want to remind you that you are free to leave at any moment and you don’t have to answer any questions that you don’t want to,” Rose said. “We only want to help you.”

Choromatsu made a tiny nod. “O-okay.” His voice was wavering a little.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what is your power?” she asked. Even if she kept her voice even and polite, he could hear her curiosity.

Biting his lip, Choromatsu glanced away, before looking back at Rose. “I… I can create force fields.”

“That’s a useful power,” she said encouragingly. “Can you show it to me inside the car safely?”

“Uhh, yeah, I think so,” Choromatsu answered, his eyes cast away from everyone.

A few seconds passed in silence, then Rose asked: “Would you like to show us?”

“Oh, right,” Choromatsu muttered. “Ummm… So should I just show it?”

“If that’s okay.”

Choromatsu swallowed. He was staring at his lap, but he could feel how the three people were staring at him intensely. He swallowed again, but his mouth was dry. He breathed out, then he created a force field. In a blink of an eye a force field, glowing slightly in green, had appeared to separate him from the rest of the car. Instantly he turned to look at the PRT officer. She looked excited and to Choromatsu’s relief her weapons were down.

“It’s marvelous!” Rose said. “How strong is it?”

“Uhhh, I don’t know,” Choromatsu answered, letting the force field disappear. He thought of how the wall had fallen on top of him, but then again, it had been just a wall. “I don’t know. I haven’t really been using my power.”

Rose nodded. “That’s alright. Now, would you like us to go to the PRT building? You’d get to meet another cape and someone of the higher ups. Armstrong and Bastion should both be free to meet you, unless something urgent has come up.”

Choromatsu’s mouth opened. Those two were some of the most powerful people in Boston, right next to the major and Accord. He should be really careful not to get on anyone’s bad side. “Could I really meet them?” he found himself asking, bewildered.

“Of course. They’d be happy to meet you,” Rose said, smiling. “They can help you to figure out what would be the best for you to do.”

Choromatsu looked down again. He really needed some support. He couldn’t do this alone since he had no fucking clue what to do. He needed someone to tell him that it’d be all okay and show him what he should do now.

“I…” he started and swallowed. Then he nodded. “O-okay. I’d like to meet them,” he said, his voice quiet and nervous.

“Great!” Rose said. “Remember, anytime you want to leave, you can.” Choromatsu nodded. “We’re going then. Pete?”

“Sure thing,” the man behind the wheel answered, starting the engine. “If you could just buckle up.”

The three passengers did and the car started moving.

Instantly Choromatsu tensed up even more than he had already been and he moved to the edge of his seat while turning his head quickly from side to side. The door was not locked. If he had to, he could just jump out of the car and use his force field to protect him from damage.

“How long have you had your powers?”

Choromatsu snapped his head quickly to Rose. He was looking a bit worried, but smiled as Choromatsu turned to look at her.

“I… Not for very long,” he answered and turned to look at the door next to him again.

“Have you considered what you’d want to do with your powers?”

Choromatsu felt his anxiety rise. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. It probably was the right thing to do to become a hero, but that could mean putting himself and his family in danger. He knew that these people of course wanted him to join the protectorate, but he didn’t know if that was what he should do. His family was everything he had. He couldn’t put them in any danger, but maybe he already was just because he had powers.

His heart was racing and he felt a little sick. He was staring at his hands, trying to focus on his breathing that had gotten more shallow again, leaving him with a feeling that he didn’t get enough oxygen.

“It’s okay, you can figure it out,” Choromatsu heard Rose say, but her voice sounded distant as his attention was on his panicking. “I’ll quickly make a call and tell them that we’re on our way.”

The car turned to a main road, suddenly speeding up. Choromatsu’s eyes widened in panic, his heart stopping in fear.

“ _ I can’t do this!! I need to get out!!” _

“Hello. Yes, this is Rose Hastings. We found him and he’s in the car right now. We’ll be there soon.”

By now Choromatsu was breathing through his mouth, fast, laboured breaths. He started to feel the hot, dizzy feeling which freaked him out even more. He couldn’t pass out here! The lump in his throat had only gotten bigger and he was desperately trying to swallow it down, but it wasn’t going anywhere. He tried to swallow it and swallow it again and - Oh god, he wasn’t getting enough air!

“Hey?” Choromatsu heard the officer say, but he didn’t look at her. He was leaning forward, gasping for air as he hyperventilated. He felt like he might seriously die! He couldn’t breathe! He was leaning his head against the seat in front of him, holding his hands on both sides of his head. Tears were burning his eyes and his vision was slowly starting to get hazy as the feeling of passing out grew.

“I need to go,” Rose said somewhere. Blood was rushing in Choromatsu’s ears and in all of his panic, he couldn’t really follow what was happening in the car.

Then a hand was laid on his shoulder.

“Don’t touch me!” Choromatsu yelled in fear and a forcefield had appeared in between him and Rose and it had knocked her hand away. Tears were slowly flowing from Choromatsu’s wide, fearful eyes, covered with the mask. He had jumped back and was pressed against the corner between the seat and the door, hugging himself. He was trembling and swinging slightly back and forth as he was heaving in shallow, unsatisfying breaths at a fast pace.

“Ah! Sir, please, calm down.”

“Rose! Are you okay?”

Choromatsu saw how the officer took the containment foam gun into her hand. A new wave of fear washed over him and in a blink of an eye he had made a new force field, now becoming fully separated from the rest of the car.

“Don’t shoot! Please, d-don’t shoot!” Choromatsu blurted quickly in panic.

“It’s okay,” Rose said, looking at him as calmingly as she could. The car was pulled to the side of the road.

“Pl-please… I don’t-”

“Sir, you need to calm down!”

“Nea!” Rose said firmly, giving the other woman a meaningful look.

The car came to a stop and Choromatsu opened the door hastily, scrambling out. He took a couple of running steps before his leg gave up under him. He gasped, a pathetic whine escaping his mouth, and a round force field appeared all around him, shielding him for the impact with the ground and leaving him a few centimeters above the ground. He sat up, his legs folded and knees pointing up. Tears had already started to pour from under his mask, leaving growing wet spots on his hoodie. He was clutching his chest as he hyperventilated, still feeling like he might pass out.

Rose appeared in front of him, kneeling down to the ground. “Sir, I need you to look at me.” Choromatsu kept on gasping for breath, his blank stare on the ground.

“Sir, please! Look at me!” Rose said louder, now gaining Choromatsu’s attention. He met her look, trembling and still fighting for breath.

Rose looked worried, but she did her best to remain calm. “Good. Now, I need you to breathe with me. Breathe in, breathe out. In and out. You can do that.”

Choromatsu swallowed and an erratic sob left his mouth. He took a little deeper breath, then exhaled. He took another shaky breath.

“Good. Just in,” Rose said, pausing, “and out.”

Choromatsu breathed out, then he noticed movement on his left and as he turned to look, the fear hit him harder again. The officer had walked next to him, carrying her containment foam gun with one hand.

Choromatsu backed against the opposite wall of his force field from her. “Pl-please! I- I don’t mean any harm! Pl-please!” he sobbed frantically.

“Nea, put that gun away,” Rose said. Nea stared at her for a few seconds, then glanced at Choromatsu and holstered the gun.

“Good. Look at me again. Sir, no one will hurt you or capture you. Please, look at me.”

Uneasily Choromatsu moved his teary eyes from the officer, looking at Rose again.

“Just breathe with me,” she said. “Breathe in, breathe out. Sir, do it with me. Breathe in - good! And breathe out.” Choromatsu breathed out, following Rose’s instructions. He focused on breathing calmly the best he could.

“Again breathe in and breathe out,” Rose said. “You’re doing good.” She smiled encouragingly.

With each breath Choromatsu started to feel better and the dizziness started to leave him. He began to see that these people really seemed to want to help him. He looked at the three people as he breathed. They looked worried but not hostile. He took another deep breath, letting his body relax a bit.

“Good,” Rose said. “It’s better now, right?” Choromatsu nodded a little. “How are you feeling?”

Choromatsu was now hugging his knees. He looked down and lifted the mask a little, wiping off tears with his sleeve, careful to keep his face hidden. “I- I... “ He looked at Rose. “A-a little better.”

Rose smiled at him. “That’s a relief. I’m sure this is all very stressful, but I can assure you that everyone in PRT is on your side. We want to help you.”

Choromatsu sniffled. “I… I’m sorry. I- I didn’t mean to panic like this,” he said quietly, tears still in his voice.

“Don’t worry. You did nothing wrong,” Rose said. “You must have gone through a lot. I hope you’ll let us help you.”

Choromatsu lifted his head up a little. “I don’t know i-if you can help me,” he said. “I don’t know what I want.”

“That’s okay. We can help you figure that out.” Rose smiled at him.

A moment passed as they all just stayed there quietly, the noise of the traffic filling the air. Choromatsu took a deep breath, then let his force field disappear, dropping a couple of centimeters to the ground.

The three others were startled which made Choromatsu tense again. Quickly Rose lifted her palms up in a calming manner. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Nothing bad will happen.“

Choromatsu bit his lip and took a deep inhale. Then he nodded. “Okay.” He turned to look at Nea who was kneeling down close to him.

“Water?” she asked, offering a bottle towards him.

“Thank you,” Choromatsu mumbled and took it. He opened the bottle and took a few long sips, the water easing the uncomfortable feeling inside his throat. He sighed quietly, feeling better all the time. “Thank you,” he repeated.

“Don’t mention it,” Nea said, offering him a small smile.

“Is there something you’d like to talk about?” Rose asked. “Are you okay?”

Choromatsu swallowed, closing his eyes for a moment, the torment of the past month flashing before his eyes. “I’ll be fine. It’s- it’s just been rough. This wasn’t the first panic attack I’ve had.”

“I see. Just know that we’re here for you. We-” Rose turned her gaze elsewhere, then to the officer. “Nea,” she said, pointing somewhere behind Choromatsu. Nea nodded and started walking there.

Choromatsu turned to look and saw how a car had stopped to the side of the road, curious people trying to find out what was happening. The officer walked to them, telling them to move along.

“Why can’t people just mind their own business…” Rose muttered before turning back to Choromatsu. “What do you want to do now? Do you still want to come with us to PRT? We can also take you back.”

“I- I…” Choromatsu stammered as he thought about it. He had already come this far and he didn’t want to turn around now. It probably wouldn’t be any easier some other time either and at least these people had been kind to him. “I think I still want to come. A-at least try.”

Rose smiled at him. “That’d be nice. Just don’t push yourself.” She stood up. “Shall we go then before more people gather here?”

Choromatsu stood up as well, his legs a bit wobbly. He went into the car after Rose and the two others followed them. Not many seconds later they were on the move again, driving towards the city center.

Choromatsu was looking out of the window, still working with his breathing. It was calm now, but getting back into the car made him feel trapped again and he was doing his best to keep it together.

He turned to look at Rose, opening his mouth to say something, but didn’t manage to get words out when he saw how she jumped slightly. Choromatsu frowned and looked at the other two in the car. Nea was turned basically sideways, constantly keeping an eye on him, her look a bit wary. Pete was glancing at Choromatsu from the back mirror every now and then.

Choromatsu’s frown deepened. They were scared of him.

He felt confused. Why would someone be scared of him? It was weird, something he had never experienced before.  _ He _ was afraid of them so why…? Was there a good reason for people to fear him?

Choromatsu looked at his hands, laying on his lap. He was a cape. He was different than them. He was stronger than normal humans in some sense and if his power was used for bad, it might cause horrible things.

He pressed his lips together. From now on would people always treat him differently? He could be a hero or he could be a monster.

However, he didn’t know if he had the strength or courage of becoming anything.

Choromatsu swallowed before he spoke, feeling uneasier again. “I’d never want to harm anyone. I’m really sorry, I can’t really control my power when I get scared.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rose said. “Nothing bad happened. You were just feeling bad and used your power as a reaction.”

Choromatsu nodded. “Y-yeah. Still, I should control my power.”

“This is an exceptionally stressful situation for you. It’s no wonder you used them,” Rose said. “I think it’ll help you a lot when you get to talk to other capes.”

“I hope so,” he answered. He really did.

“One minute to PRT,” Pete announced.

Choromatsu swallowed, feeling how his heart started hammering again. “ _ No turning back now. You can do this.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!  
Damn I like writing panicking Choro (or any other character). It's so effortless when I just think of my own anxieties.  
Next chapter will be the last before hiatus.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choromatsu meets with some important people at the PRT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!
> 
> So this is the last update you're gonna get for a while. I hope you'll enjoy it!
> 
> Betaread by Rustfeather.

They drove into a small underground park hall that was underneath the PRT building. The car stopped and Choromatsu stepped out with Rose and Nea. He was looking around through the darkened lenses of his mask nervously, his body shaking. He took a deep breath through his nose and blew it out through his nose. It was all okay. These people didn’t want any harm for him.

“This way, sir,” Rose said.

Choromatsu turned to look at her and nodded. He started following the two women and the car was driven away. His heart was beating quickly as he was being led to an elevator.

“I’ll call that we’re here,” Rose said, taking out her phone.

Choromatsu nodded again. He was watching how the elevator doors closed, leaving him trapped in the tiny space. He swallowed, fisting his hands.

“Hello. Yes, this is Rose Hastings. We’re in the elevator of the west parking hall. Yes. Can you repeat? Floor 6, room 615.” Nea pressed the button of the right floor. “Okay. Do you know if we need to wait? I see. That’s good. Wait, one more thing. Do you know if Yamada is available?”

Choromatsu felt his heart jump into his throat. Yamada?? Had they already figured out his ethnicity? Was it his accent?

“Mmm. I think she might be helpful. Oh, no. I’ll text you. Okay. Thank you, bye.” Rose ended the call and turned to look at Choromatsu who turned his gaze quickly away. “Are you feeling okay?” she asked and started to write with her phone.

Choromatsu pressed his lips together and nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” He paused, then asked: “Who’s Yamada?”

Nea and Rose changed a look, then Rose turned to smile at Choromatsu. “Doctor Yamada is our parahuman psychologist. She’s very good at her work, one of the best. I don’t mean to say that you need a psychologist, but if what happened on our way here happens again, she’s the best person to help you.” The elevator stopped and the doors opened.

“ _ A psychologist?”  _ Choromatsu thought surprised. That wasn’t what he had expected, but now that he thought of it, it was completely logical. Even if Rose didn’t want to say it, he needed help. “Okay. I understand,” he said and stepped out of the elevator.

He was led through a corridor that had doors on each wall, until they finally reached room 615. Nea opened the door, stepping aside, and Choromatsu walked into the room after Rose. His eyes widened and he stopped on his tracks as he saw who were in the room.

Armstrong and Bastion stood up as Choromatsu got inside the moderate sized meeting room. He stared at them in disbelief. The director of PRT Boston and the most famous hero in the city were standing up to meet him. It was crazy.

“There you are,” Armstrong said, smiling happily. “I’m Kamil Armstrong, director of our PRT.” He offered his hand to Choromatsu.

Feeling unsure, Choromatsu reached his trembling hand out and took Armstrong’s hand to shake. He opened his mouth to speak, but he didn’t have an answer. “I… Uhhh…”

“Don’t worry. No name is needed at this point.” He gave Choromatsu’s hand a firm shake, but didn’t stretch it for too long. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Choromatsu nodded. “The- the pleasure is mine,” he said. Somehow Armstrong’s presence was calming him a little. He was speaking with a happy, kind tone which made Choromatsu feel like he probably wasn’t going to be hurt.

Bastion stepped forward, offering his hand. “I’m Bastion.”

Choromatsu shook hands with him too. He was very much intimidated by the hero, but he couldn’t help but admire him. “I-it’s an honor to meet you.”

“We’re really glad that you came here to meet us,” Armstrong said. “Please, sit down.”

“Ah, thank you,” Choromatsu said and sat down at the table that was in the middle of the room after the two other.

“Here.”

Choromatsu was startled a little as a bottle of water was placed on the table in front of him. He turned his head to the side and saw Rose standing next to him. She offered him a smile before turning to look at Armstrong. “Will you three be okay now?” she asked.

Armstrong nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”

“Umm, did you get my message about… Do you know where doctor Yamada is?”

“Yes, thank you. We got the message,” Armstrong answered. “But no, I don’t know where she is. If you find her, could you send her here?”

“Yes, of course,” Rose answered. “I’ll leave you then.” She turned to look at Choromatsu. “I hope this’ll be helpful to you.” Then she left the room and Nea nodded her head and closed the door, leaving the three alone.

“Now,” Armstrong started and Choromatsu turned to look at him. “We’d be very curious to get to know something about you. Am I correct that your power is force fields?”

Choromatsu could see how Bastion narrowed his eyes for a fraction. He swallowed before answering. “Uhh, yes.” He started to feel a bit more uneasy again.

“Would you show us?” Bastion asked.

Choromatsu gripped his knees as he sat. He tried to keep his arms steady, but they were shaking. “O-okay.” He bit his lip and a force field appeared behind himself.

“Oh, looks great!” Armstrong said. “I like the beautiful, transparent green color.”

“How strong are they?” Bastion asked, sounding serious like always.

Choromatsu averted his eyes from the two. “I don’t really know,” he answered.

“How much have you used your powers?” Armstrong asked, his tone a bit more careful now. He was clearly trying to avoid touchy subjects.

“Not much. I’ve been unsure of what to do. The only time I actually used it for real was…” he trailed off. An uncomfortable lump rose into his throat.

“ _ Why am I so weak?”  _ Choromatsu thought, his lips pressed together, staring at his lap.

“I’ve been thinking of just laying low and never using my power, to protect myself and my family...”

“ _ I’m not the same as I was before. I’m stronger now.” _

“- But keeping the secret is driving me insane. I’m unable to do anything and I can only worry-”

“ _ I should get myself together and learn to use my power. I need to make sure that no one will ever hurt my family again. Now I have the chance to protect them.” _

“I- I need help,” Choromatsu finished. He was staring down, unable to look at the other two.

Armstrong leaned closer to him over the table. “We can help you,” he said, smiling. “You just need to let us. Tell us what we can do.”

Choromatsu gripped his knees harder. “I- I don’t know… I don’t know what I want to do. I’m afraid of doing anything. I’m… I’m afraid of making the wrong choice.”

“Making a move is scary,” Armstrong said. “But nothing will ever turn for better if we don’t do anything about it.”

“I guess you’re right,” Choromatsu said.

“We’ll help you, no matter whether you decided to join us or not.”

Choromatsu swallowed and nodded. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

“I’m guessing you haven’t had your power for very long?” Armstrong said.

“No.”

“How are you doing in general?” Armstrong asked. He was studying Choromatsu with his eyes.

“I…” Choromatsu thought of all the times he had woken up in the middle of the night from a nightmare and the times he had been locked into their bathroom while having a panic attack. His brothers had helped him through many of them, but he felt bad putting them through that so often, so he had gotten hesitant seeking help when he felt a panic attack coming. He thought of his brothers, most of them who had suffered more than he had when they had been kidnapped, but who had still managed to move on.

“I’m not too good, but I can manage,” he finally answered, quietly.

Armstrong smiled at him sympathetically. “I understand. I’m not exactly sure what you wanted to come to talk with us, but would you like me to go through some options that you have?”

Choromatsu lifted his head up a little and nodded. “Yes, please.”

“Alright, so you can either decide to use your power publicly or try to keep it a secret,” Armstrong started. “While keeping the powers a secret is often a safer option, it also has the risk of wrong people finding out and recruiting the parahuman. They often don’t give you an option to refuse.”

Choromatsu swallowed. He really was afraid of making a decision this big.

“However,” Bastion continued, “only a fraction of parahumans decide not to use their powers. It is very hard to resist using them.”

Armstrong nodded. “Yes. So then the options are to use the powers for something other than law enforcement. You could become a rogue and work alone, using your powers for personal or business reasons. Some parahumans are for example working in the entertainment business. Parahumans not using their powers at all can be also considered rogues.” He paused, letting Choromatsu process. “Or you could become a hero. The most common decision for those who want to become a hero is to join the Protectorate, but some join other hero groups as well.”

“Here in Boston we don’t have any other hero groups than the Protectorate and the Wards, though,” Bastion said. “But we have some rogues that could be labelled as single heroes.”

Choromatsu stared at the table. “What would you say is the safest option?” he asked, his voice a bit unsteady.

“Not using your powers or using them for neutral reasons,” Armstrong answered.

“If I become a rogue… Let’s say I wouldn’t use my powers much at all. Would I be required to join the fight if there was an S-class threat in the city?” Choromatsu asked.

Armstrong smiled at him reassuringly. “No. If you were a rogue, it wouldn’t be required. However, if we had a way to contact you, we might ask for your help. You’d of course be welcome to offer your help, but it’d be all up to you.”

Choromatsu nodded slowly. “I see.”

“However, joining the protectorate has a lot of benefits,” Bastion said.

“That’s true,” Armstrong agreed. “We’d of course do what we can to protect your identity, provide you the best gear there is, and your team would be top class. If there was a need, we could also give protection to your family.”

Choromatsu bit his lip. That was true, but if he kept his powers a secret, maybe that protection wouldn’t be needed. If the Teeth only had left them alone.

Still, he had powers now. That alone was probably more protection than if he was running around as a hero and PRT provided his family protection. What he should do was to stay close to his family.

It was safer for everyone if he didn’t use his power. Of course it was!? Why had he even come here when it was so obvious?

“ _ Because I needed to talk to someone.” _

“Of course you’d be paid salary if you joined us and we’d offer you insurance. Your medical care would be taken care of. We’d-” Armstrong was cut off when the door was suddenly slammed open.

Choromatsu jumped on his feet and a force field appeared in between him and the door. His heart was hammering against his ribs as he started eyes wide at the man entering the room.

“I heard there’s a new cape!!”

Choromatsu was frozen as he stared at the man. He was wearing a mask, covered in blue glitter and lined with silver sequins. It also had a few blue feathers on its side. The man was wearing a blue t-shirt and blue sequin pants.

_ Blue sequin pants. _

“You.” Bastion had stood up sharply. “Leave. Now.”

The man didn’t seem to listen. “This is exciting! Someone new like me! I can help them because I’m going through the same thing!” he said, excited, and turned to look at Choromatsu, offering him an excited smile.

“ _ No way. It can’t be!!”  _ Choromatsu thought, but he knew the voice. He didn’t want to believe it, though!

“You don’t have the right to be here. Get out now,” Bastion said to the new cape.

“I know it can be really scary, but we’re all on your side!”

Choromatsu stared at the man and the force field between them disappeared. He started walking to him.

“Now is not the right time,” Armstrong said to the blue-clad man, standing up as well.

The glittered man only continued: “I was in the same situation just a couple of weeks ago. I can help you. We can talk and I can tell you why I decided to join the Protectorate. I want to-”

He was cut off when Choromatsu placed a hand on his shoulder. Choromatsu took off his mask, simultaneously taking off his hood. He stared at the other intensely as he spoke:

“Karamatsu.”

For a moment the room was completely silent. Then the man took a deep inhale. “Choromatsu!” he shouted, excited, and took off his own mask, revealing that Choromatsu had been right. It was Karamatsu. He was practically glowing from how excited he was. Wait, was he  _ actually  _ glowing?! “Brother, I-”

“What are you doing here?!” Choromatsu asked in rapid Japanese. “Why, oh,  _ why _ do you have to be here?! So you have superpowers? Since when?!! Fucking hell, Karamatsu!!” He let go of his brother and gripped his own hair. “Why?!”

“Bro-brother!” Karamatsu said, raising his palms up calmingly. “Calm down. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not! You have superpowers!” Choromatsu shouted and poked Karamatsu to the chest. “You should have told me before you went joining any team!!”

“Wha-what?” Karamatsu asked. “Then why didn’t you tell me today that-”

“Shut up!” Choromatsu snapped. “Idiot! You’ll get yourself killed!!”

“But I have to do what’s right!” Karamatsu defended himself. “I got powers so I have to-”

“Is this best for our family?!” Choromatsu asked harshly and Karamatsu shut his mouth. For a moment the two of them stared at each other, then Karamatsu averted his eyes.

“I don’t know, but I had to do this,” he said much quieter. “I had to join the heroes.”

Both of the brothers turned their heads when Armstrong cleared his throat. He and Bastion were staring at the two, bewildered. “Well, this was certainly unexpected,” the director said. “Would you mind switching back to English?”

Choromatsu sighed, turning to fully face them. “Sorry. I just very much wouldn’t like to see him here. Why did you hire him? You must be aware that he’ll get himself killed the first day on the field.”

“Brother, please, calm down,” Karamatsu said. “I’m receiving training. I won’t-”

“Fuck you, Karamatsu,” Choromatsu said tiredly, turning to glare at him. Then he sighed. “I know you want to do what you think it’s right, but fuck you. Do you understand this means that I have no other choice but to join as well?”

Karamatsu frowned. “Choromatsu, I made my decision. You can make yours. The fact that I’m here shouldn’t affect it.”

“But it does,” Choromatsu said, looking at the second oldest. “I can’t stay home if I know that you’re potentially risking your life somewhere. I can keep an eye on you if I join.”

“Choromatsu. You don’t need to decide anything right away,” Karamatsu said, frowning.

“I’ve already made up my mind. I knew what I had to do the moment I recognized your voice,” Choromatsu said. “Unless you resign, I’ll join.”

Karamatsu stayed quiet for a moment. “You know I won’t,” he said a little apologetically.

Choromatsu nodded. “I do.”

“Choromatsu was it?” Armstrong asked and Choromatsu nodded. “This must be a lot to take in. I appreciate that you’re interested in joining us, but I must refuse allowing you to do that before you have given it a good thought.” He let his eyes travel from brother to brother. “You two must have a lot of catching up to do. I think it’s for the best that you discuss this alone at first. How does that sound?”

Choromatsu and Karamatsu looked at each other, then both nodded.

“Good. Choromatsu, would you like to meet us again tomorrow?” Armstrong asked, offering a smile.

“If that’s okay for you,” the third born said.

“It is,” Armstrong said. “You can use this room for as long as you need. Ask from the office of this floor if you need anything. Me and Bastion are leaving then. You can call me anytime if you need me,” he said kindly.

Karamatsu nodded. “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” Choromatsu said as well.

“Oh, and Karamatsu,” the director continued, “don’t take him to heroes’ quarters without my permission, okay?” he said, smiling. “Or anywhere else that isn’t allowed to the public.”

“I won’t, sir,” Karamatsu answered.

Armstrong nodded. “Please, excuse us then.” With that he and Bastion walked to the door. “It was nice meeting you, Choromatsu,” he said, smiling.

Choromatsu nodded. “Likewise.”

“See you tomorrow, I hope,” Bastion said, nodding, and he closed the door, leaving Choromatsu and Karamatsu alone in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!
> 
> Oh no! Poor Choro... Finding out that Kara is a cape won't help his anxiety, even though being able to speak with him will be of help. The next chapter will be about them talking to each other. 
> 
> However, this story is now on hiatus!! I need to take some time off and write new chapters. It will take quite long I think cause I haven't been writing that much lately (and I'm kinda falling into another fandom. Thank god season 3 is coming soon and we'll get new content!!)
> 
> Thank you everyone for your support!! <3 Feel free to read my other works, follow me on twitter @dragonfruitkiss and I'll see you all again hopefully sooner than later!


End file.
